The Other Experiments
by KGhostGirl
Summary: Two other experiments, and their creator Jade, crash land on Earth, but only the experiments survive. And they end up discovering more on Earth than they expected...
1. The Other Experiments

...Hm, well, this is a fanfiction series I am currently writing, and a lot of the chapters are already written. However, I am only posting the first chapter right now. I will post the others if you like it. ...  
  
  
  
  
  
The Other Experiments  
  
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A loud, piercing beep, followed by another beep, then another... woke Kasey up with a start. She looked around, her medium-sized, purple ears twitching at the sound. At the top of her ears, near the tips but not quite, were splotches of lavender. Her stomach was also lavender, but the rest of her fur was purple. Well, except for at the tips of the three long, furry hairs that came out of the side of her head... the tips of them, yes, also lavender. The inside of her ears were pink, and her eyes, medium-sized, were brown but had that pupiless shine to them. Her nose was medium-sized and lavender, and her mouth was long, and usually had a mischievous smirk to show for itself.  
  
...But not today. She lifted her lavender-clawed paw to her mouth in surprise, her eyes wide. That beeping was the ship's alarm! She was just about to get out of her bottom bunk bed, when Susan, another experiment, stepped into the room. Susan and Kasey were always arguing, and Susan shared the bunk beds with Kasey. She had the top bunk, as you should know.  
  
"Kasey! You lazy sleepyhead! Get out of there now. There's something wrong with the ship. We have to abandon it before it crashes!" Susan, with her dark, practically black fur, small ears that always seemed to be tucked at the sides of her head, and the one wave of dark hair that flowed neatly out of her forehead and to the left side of her head, looked beautiful practically all of the time. Her eyes were also brown, shiny, and pupiless, but they were bigger than Kasey's. Her neat little nose was brown, and her perfectly-sized thin lips always seemed to be pressed together in concentration. Her fur was completely dark, yes, even her stomach. She put her clawless paws on her hips and stared at Kasey, annoyed. "Come ON!"  
  
Kasey jumped off the bed, grumbling something to herself. Even in a situation like this, she wasn't a morning person (or, rather, experiment ^^). She was always in a bad mood this early. She hated the hours that she spent in her snuggly covers to be cut short. But, nonetheless, she followed Susan out of their room.  
  
The beeping was even louder in the main room of the ship, which made Kasey cover her ears. "It is so noisy in here! Where's Jade?!"  
  
"I'm right here." A panicked voice came from the chair at the ship's controls. The chair swiveled around, and there, sitting in it, was Dr. Jade Starkey. She was the creator of Experiment Susan and Experiment Kasey. She was also like a mother to them. She was a genetics experiments scientist, but she was new to the occupation. Susan and Kasey were her only experiments, although the two had the right to believe that she had more in the making. Susan was Jade's first creation, therefore she was older than Kasey, which was just another reason for Kasey to be jealous of her, although Susan delighted in that fact. Another thing was, Jade liked to name her experiments, rather than call them by numbers. She had a sort of fond attachment to them;she saw them as her daughters. Jade was also fond of humans. In fact, they were heading to Earth that very minute, although obviously the ship was having problems.  
  
"What is it, Jade?" Kasey could see the worry on her creator's face. Something was not right.  
  
"There's a problem... I am afraid, there is no time to abandon ship. We will surely be killed if we try." Dr. Jade swallowed, trying not to alarm her creations. She, Dr. Jade, was a strange little alien. She was skinny and green, and wore scientists' clothing, and she was short. Not much taller than her experiments, to be exact. Her head was covered in lighter green, curly hair. She also wore wire-rimmed glasses in front of her blue eyes. She had no ears, but she did have a small little nose.  
  
"Well, we have to do something!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
"There's no time... we'll just have to sit back and hope we survive through this." Dr. Jade told them. Kasey was afraid she'd say that. Even though Kasey probably didn't look it because of her calm outlook, she WAS scared. But she didn't want to show it. But she did join the others in their screams when the ship started to go faster and faster. Then, suddenly, to their shock, a huge space rock crashed through the glass on the ship and collided with Dr. Jade, falling right on top of her! Susan instantly ran to her side, and Kasey ran up behind her.  
  
"Jade! Are you all right?" Susan asked.  
  
"Su-san..." Jade whispered, then looked up at Kasey. "Ka-sey... listen, my beloved experiments... I... I'm dying, I can feel it;I trust you two to care for yourselves. Find a nice home on Earth, the both of you... and let my memory dwell in your souls forever."  
  
"No, Jade! You shall not die. You'll be there with us on Earth. We'll all live together." Susan insisted.  
  
"I know that's how we planned it, but..." Jade sighed.  
  
"It can still be like that... besides, if you did die, we would die with you..." Susan's voice was teary. She swallowed to keep from crying.  
  
"No. You will both live. Find lives, find love... I know, that much..." Jade's voice trailed off.  
  
"Jade? Jade?! JADE!?" Susan screamed, but no answer came. Then Susan began to cry, cry unlike Kasey had never seen her cry before. Her tears were uncontrollable and seemed nonstop...  
  
As for Kasey's own tears, they did not come. She was sort of mixed up in her emotions. Never in her short life had she ever experienced death before. She knew it existed, but... she never witnessed it... felt it linger so near, creep in, and take a loved one... now that that had happened, she didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to say... her emotions were blank and empty, yet they hurt her, pained her soul...  
  
The rest of what happened was a blank. After she saw Susan grieving over Dr. Jade, the next thing that Kasey remembered is that everything got blurred... all she remembered after that was blackness... deep blackness...  
  
When she came back into consciousness, she spit out a mouthful of water before opening her eyes. She felt wet and damp, and when her sight came back into focus, she saw why.   
  
She was in water! Obviously. She heard a roaring sound, looked up, and spotted a waterfall. She groaned, and scampered out of the water, collapsing onto the ground. She coughed, sputtered, and sat up. And there, in front of her, was a gigantic spaceship. Well... maybe gigantic was exaggerating just a little bit, but Kasey knew it was too big to be their ship. So... was someone else crashed here? She sighed. Like it mattered in the least, anyway. All Kasey wanted to do now was find Susan... then maybe they could work out what to do. She stood up, shaking the water from her fur.  
  
"Susan?" She called out, looking around. "Susan? Are you here? If you are, then don't play games with me! Huh?! Where are you!"  
  
No answer came to the bewildered Kasey. Huh. And she would've thought Susan'd be here, too... unless... unless they had went off in different directions! Aw, great, Kasey thought. Just what she needed. Now she had to handle herself on her own. Susan might be a pain, Kasey thought, but she did know how to get things done. As for her... she had no idea what to do.  
  
Then, a loud noise broke the silence... a loud, stomping noise. It shook the ground so that it made Kasey fall back down... which she wasn't too thankful for.  
  
The stomps stopped from behind her, and Kasey turned around. There, standing before her, was a gigantic, shark-like alien. He had blasters at the ready and looked delighted when he saw Kasey. "An experiment... that other one got away, but you won't!" He aimed his blaster at Kasey, grinning.  
  
Kasey stared at him, and seemed to roll her eyes. Then she curled up in a little ball, and pretended to sleep. The shark guy didn't like this. He did not like the fact that Kasey was ignoring him, and that she wasn't intimidated, or didn't fight back, but just laid there. He groaned, but pulled out a ham sandwich, and wiggled it in front of Kasey. "Come on, little experiment... the lunch meat is goo-oood..."  
  
Kasey groaned. "Oh, please! You're embarassing yourself. That's the oldest trick in the book."  
  
"So, you speak English fluently..." He flinched, as if remembering another experiment that could do the same. "Well, if you come with me, I'll give you the ham."  
  
"All right already, sheesh. It's not like I have anything better to do..." Kasey grumbled, and took the ham sandwich. She WAS hungry, and ate it quickly. As soon as she was finished, she got shot with the blaster, which held her captive in a sack-like thing.  
  
"That's right! No abomination can outwit Gantu!" Gantu smirked.  
  
Kasey could feel his smirk, even though she could not see it. "Yeah, sure, whatever, Shark Face. I hope you know that as soon as I get out of here, I'm going to harpoon you."  
  
Gantu hit the "sack" a little, making it swing gently back and forth in his other hand. "Don't do that! You're starting to remind me of someone..."  
  
"Who? Your common sense? ...No, wait. You don't seem like you have that." Now Gantu could feel Kasey's smirking.  
  
"I mean it! Quiet!" Gantu hit the "sack" again.  
  
"Hey! You're going to make me throw up." Kasey complained.  
  
"Not my fault." Gantu then walked into his ship, his prize in hand.  
  
When Gantu told Dr. Hamsterviel that he caught an experiment, Dr. Hamsterviel wanted to waste no time. "Well, what are you waiting for, you useless hunk of blubber?!" Dr. Hamsterviel yelled. Kasey snickered at this comment. "Stop your idiotic grinning, and send me the experiment at once!"  
  
"As you wish, Dr. Hamsterviel." Gantu sighed, and opened up the "sack", depositing Kasey out of it. She violently shook her head, but didn't have time to relax. Gantu picked her up by the nape of her neck and dropped her on a teleporter. Then, with some buttons being pressed, Kasey felt herself being transported some place else...  
  
And the first thing she saw was Dr. Hamsterviel's face. "Ahhhhh!!" She screamed.  
  
Dr. Hamsterviel looked her over. "Hmmm... you aren't an experiment I specifically remember or recall hearing about. What's your number?"  
  
"My number?..." Kasey seemed confused. "I'm just called Kasey. That's what my creator calls---called me."  
  
"Dr. Jumba Jookiba had a pet name for you?!" Dr. Hamsterviel seemed surprised.  
  
"Dr. Who? Oh, no, you must be mistaken. My creator is... or at least, was... Dr. Jade Starkey." Kasey corrected.  
  
"Hmmm... Starkey, Starkey..." Dr. Hamsterviel seemed to be thinking it over. "Oh, yeah! Now I remember her. She was a ridiculous piece of freak work. She always mumbled how she'd create experiments on her own..."  
  
"And she did!" Kasey exclaimed, somewhat angry at Dr. Hamsterviel for how he had put it.  
  
"So she did..." Dr. Hamsterviel put his hands together. "So, tell me, cutie, what CAN you do?" He said that in an offensive way, as if he only expected Kasey could be cute and nothing more.  
  
And she did not like that. "Don't call me a cutie! And if you want to know what I can do, then let me out."  
  
"Okay..." Dr. Hamsterviel looked suspicious, but he let Kasey out anyway. She toppled onto the floor, then stood up straight. "Behold." Then her form began to change, began to morph... until a tall human girl with brown hair and brown eyes stood in her place. "I can turn into a human." Then she reverted back to her original form and laid back, as if it were no big deal.  
  
"Hmmm... a human, eh?" Dr. Hamsterviel thought this over. "Yes, that could prove useful! You could make the humans think you're one of them, but all the while waiting to put my ingenious plot into action... I just have to think of my ingenious plot..."  
  
Kasey sighed. "What makes you think I'm going to do that? It sounds like a lot of work." Kasey yawned, still a little sore at being woken up early. She laid against the cold floor and closed her eyes.  
  
"How dare you! You WILL go through with this plot, and you WILL like it!" Dr. Hamsterviel exclaimed.  
  
"In your dreams, Sandman. Besides, you can't even THINK of a plot." Kasey snorted.  
  
"That's it! I'm sick and tired of you, you useless pack of fur! I'm sending you back to Gantu. Maybe you can help him catch the other experiments. And I think you'll get along with the other experiment that's helping him already." Dr. Hamsterviel tried lifting Kasey, who was bigger than he was. He dropped her back on the teleporter, and went over to the controls.  
  
"What other experiment?" Kasey asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. You'll meet him soon enough." Dr. Hamsterviel worked the controls, and Kasey was teleported again before she could ask any more. The next thing she saw was the inside of Gantu's ship again. She put her paws on the glass, looking around. But no one was there, yet. She sighed. Well, at least this gave her plenty of time to think. Like, where was Susan right now? Well, wherever she was, she probably had all the males under her spell, Kasey thought. That was Susan's ability. Any male fell in love with her, that is, except for males that were already in love. And Kasey had the ability to turn into a human. Which wasn't as glamorous, but Dr. Jade was so fond of humans, that's probably why she given her that ability.  
  
Kasey sighed again, and laid back against the glass. There was one more thing she found herself thinking of. Who was the other experiment working with Gantu? Kasey knew that it couldn't be Susan, for Dr. Hamsterviel had called the experiment a "him". Kasey was a little nervous... she had never met a male experiment before. Actually, she had not known any other experiment except for Susan. And Susan probably would have no problem with a male experiment. She'd have him wedged right between her paws. But not Kasey. Somehow, she didn't think being able to turn into a human was even half as charming. She closed her eyes, and began to slip into sleep...  
  
"So, I see Fish Face has brought home another experiment..." A low voice made Kasey snap out of her pre-sleep and accidentally slam herself against the glass. She grumbled silently to herself at the fact that she was always being disturbed every time she tried to get her sleep. She relaxed herself and opened her eyes. Outside of the glass, in front of it, stood a goldish-yellow, chubby creature holding a sandwich.  
  
"Whoa, watch it there. You don't have to be so jumpy." The creature took a bite out of his sandwich.  
  
"I am not jumpy!" Kasey insisted. It was true, she was usually calm. But she hadn't been in a good mood lately.  
  
"You could've fooled me." The creature circled her glass chamber, looking her over. Kasey frowned, not really comfortable when anyone did that.  
  
"Are you the experiment that helps that sharky guy... what's his name? Gumbi?" Kasey heard herself blurt out.  
  
"Gumbi?" The creature had a laugh over that one. "Gantu. But what you called him suits him better."  
  
"So... are you an experiment?" Kasey asked again.  
  
"What do I look like, the butler? Yes, I'm experiment number 625. How about yourself?" 625 asked.  
  
"...Well, I don't have an experiment number. My creator was Dr. Jade Starkey, and she gave her experiments names rather than numbering them. My name is Kasey." Kasey answered.  
  
"Well, that's... interesting." Replied 625, but Kasey could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh, although it was a failed attempt. Kasey frowned. She rather liked her name.  
  
"Hey... what?! Dr. Hamsterviel sent back the experiment?!" Gantu came in the room, noticing Kasey still in the teleporter.  
  
"Yes. He said something about... me helping you catch the other experiments, or something." Kasey sighed. "Will somebody let me out of here?!"  
  
"Great, just what I need. Another lackey. And you don't seem to be any more useful than the one I already have." Gantu complained.  
  
"Hey, watch who you call a lackey!" Complained 625.  
  
"Just let me out of here, you giant kipper! It's smothering in here!" Kasey yelped from behind the glass.  
  
"Between 625 and Dr. Hamsterviel, I get more than my fair share of insults. I don't need you around to add to them." Gantu said bluntly.  
  
"No, you will let me out now, or else every time I see you I will annoy you nonstop... so lemme out!" Kasey cried. "Lemme out, Blubber Beast! Lemme out lemme out lemme out!"  
  
"Aw, why don'tcha let the thing out already?" 625 took another bite of his sandwich.  
  
Kasey scowled at being called a "thing", but said nothing more. Finally, grumbling, Gantu lifted the glass up, grabbed Kasey, and dropped her in front of 625. And that was the first time they saw each other face to face without the glass in the way. They stared silently at each other for what was maybe a solid minute, and Kasey felt herself smiling nervously. But the silence was broken.  
  
"You're a girl?" 625 blurted out.  
  
Kasey felt her face grow hot. "Of course I'm a girl! I would've thought that obvious." She growled under her breath.  
  
"Hey, hey! No need to make a big deal out of it." The two stared at each other more, in an awkward silence.  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Susan was just recovering from the ship crash. She got up, holding her head.  
  
"Ohhh. Man... what happened?" She groaned. She got up, wobbling while she walked. She looked around, and saw a house right in front of her. She looked confused. "Where am I? I don't see the ship anywhere..." She looked around. "And where's Kasey? Where's anyone, for that matter? I don't see anyone!"  
  
Right when she said that, she heard the sound of a vehicle speeding towards the house. She pricked up her ears, listening as she heard it draw closer. Then she saw it come into view. A low, red vehicle sped up to the house, and she barely managed to jump out of it's way. She coughed as dirt got in her face, but peered over the side of the house, watching to see what would happen next.  
  
A black-haired, brown-eyed, tanned Hawaiian girl got out of the vehicle. She looked to Susan to be about seven years of age.  
  
"C'mon, Stitch," She was saying, "we can find out more about the experiment on the computer."  
  
Experiment? What experiment? Susan thought. The only other experiment she knew of was Kasey. Did the little girl perhaps know where she was? And who was Stitch?  
  
Her question was answered not long after as a blue-furred creature jumped out of the vehicle. Susan thought he looked somewhat like a koala. But still, he was pretty abnormal-looking... then it hit her. She could sense it. This "Stitch," as the little girl so lovingly called him, was an experiment. Another experiment? And a male one at that? Well, she did not expect to find that on Earth. But she was curious about him. And as she got a closer look, her heart gave a little flutter. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. And she usually felt comfortable around the opposite gender! She wasn't like Kasey, who usually felt awkward around males. Oh, if only she could meet him... she wanted to get closer... closer...  
  
But she didn't realize that that's exactly what she was doing! She did not realize that she walked right out into the open. And that the girl and the experiment noticed her!  
  
"It's an experiment, Stitch!" The girl exclaimed. "Another one! I wonder if this one will be any easier to capture?"  
  
"Capture? You want to capture me?!" Susan exclaimed. Then what she had suspected earlier came into her mind. "Do you have Kasey in captivity?!"  
  
"Kasey?" The girl asked, scrunching up her nose. "Who is... Kasey?"  
  
"Another experiment. Me and her crashed on Earth, along with our creator, Dr. Jade Starkey, but she didn't survive..." Susan explained, her voice trailing off.  
  
The girl looked sympathetic. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know how that feels..." Then she looked up, her expression changing back to it's happy-go-lucky self. "So! Another experiment, huh? And you just came here? And your creator is..." She paused, trying to remember.  
  
"Dr. Jade Starkey." Susan reminded her.  
  
"Dr. Jade Starkey..." The girl repeated. "Cool! There's even more experiments out there than I thought! Jumba's aren't the only ones..."  
  
Now it was Susan's turn to scrunch up her nose. "Right." Then she looked to Stitch, feeling that fluttering feeling once more. "And what's your name?"  
  
"Stitch." Stitch replied simply.  
  
Of course, Susan had already known Stitch's name, for she heard the girl call him that... but she just had to have an excuse to speak to him. And when she heard his voice, her heart gave a little leap. "Hi, Stitch. I'm Susan. You have a cute voice."  
  
The girl looked slightly annoyed that she had been forgotten. "I'm Lilo."  
  
"Oh, that's... nice." Susan looked back to Stitch, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. That's strange, Susan thought. When she was created, she was designed to capture the heart of any male. Yet, her charms did not seem to be working on Stitch. And there could only be one reason for that. He was already in love. When a male was already in love, Susan's genetic charms became irrelevant.  
  
...And she wasn't sure if she quite liked that. When she had complained to Dr. Jade about it, calling it a "bug" or a "malfunction" in her genetics, Dr. Jade had simply told her that it made her important because if a male could resist her charms, it confirmed true love in the True Love Test, her being the test. But then again, she wasn't quite sure she liked that, either.  
  
"You want to come inside?" Lilo asked, knocking Susan out of her reminiscing.  
  
"Oh, uh, sure." Susan replied. Like there was anywhere else better she could go.  
  
~~  
  
Late at night, back in Gantu's ship, Kasey was staring out of one of the ship's windows, up at the stars. She sighed. Well, she thought, Hello new life. She figured she'd be staying there a while, and she did not have anywhere else to live, and it was better than sleeping out on the ground. She laid on her back, snuggling in the blankets she had been given. And she didn't have a very comfortable bed, either. She was sleeping on the floor of the storage room of the ship, to be exact. She just had blankets thrown on her and a pillow under her head to make out her "bed".  
  
She swallowed, clicking her claws together. She strangely felt herself missing Susan. Even if she was a pain, Kasey had to admit to herself that she liked having her around. And now that she was no longer in her comfortable bunk bed, with Susan sleeping above her, she had no one to talk to. No one to annoy. No one to tease or laugh with. She frowned.  
  
Letting a sigh once more escape her, she allowed her mind to wander. She found herself missing Jade Starkey, too. And she knew for sure that she'd never see her again. She looked back out at the stars, to keep from the tears that threatened to show theirselves. As she looked up at an especially bright one, she wondered, would she ever see Susan again? Where was she, and what was she thinking at that very moment? After those thoughts, the stars blurred into complete blackness as sleep consumed her.  
  
~~  
  
Coincidentally, at the same moment Kasey had been looking out at the stars, so was Susan. Except she was in the cozy home of the Pelekais, instead of in a cold place like Gantu's ship. She had been assigned to the same room as Lilo and Stitch, sleeping in a crate box not unlike the one Stitch had slept in when he was first taken into Lilo's home. But she could see out the window. She smiled, taking in the breathtaking sight of the glittering stars bordering the lovely Hawaiian island. The scene that seemed to make it's viewers want to daydream, to reminisce, to think of things before unthinkable.  
  
..And one of those things was, what had happened to Kasey? Was she all right? Where was she sleeping tonight, while she would be sleeping in this comfortable family home? It didn't seem fair that she could be lodged somewhere cold and damp or uncomfortable while she enjoyed the comforts of a warm house. Kasey was annoying, yes, the most annoying creature she had met, but she didn't deserve that. Well, she figured, staring at the stars wasn't going to make them answer her. So she closed her eyes, and although she was reluctant at first, let herself drift into a world of unconscious dreams.  
  
THE END  
  
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To be continued  
  
...All right... if I get good reviews, I'll post the other chapters. Not all at once, though, a few at a time. So... review? And please be nice! If you didn't like the story, you don't have to review. 


	2. The First Day

OKAY! Sorry I haven't updated... I've just been on one of my lazy kicks lately. But, anyway, before the chapter I would like to say some things to a couple of the reviewers, if you're still reading this:  
  
To Dove the Unoriginal: Thank you for laying it all out like that. Your review was really helpful---believe me, it was. And as for my fan characters' "overall shape", as you put it, yes Kasey and Susan's "overall shapes" are pretty much that of Stitch and the other experiments. I didn't make it otherwise and I don't plan to change that because I'm pretty satisfied with the way they look. As for Jade... well, I never really gave her much of a design. I should really do that... anyway, yes Kasey and Susan ARE self-insertions. Kasey is my alter ego... (I have MANY of them) and Susan... well, in real life, I really DO have a cousin named Susan, and the Susan in this story is based off of her. With that being said, thanks for taking out your time to review my story like you did.  
  
To Ri2: All I can say about the Stitch and Susan thing is.... don't worry about it. Susan may be in love with Stitch but I can honestly say Stitch doesn't fall in love with Susan, and I don't know if I'll make it that way.   
  
With all that out of the way, here is the second chapter.  
  
Chap. 2: The First Day  
  
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Kasey stirred, her mind slowly whirring back into consciousness. She felt her body lift itself up, then she felt her head slam against something. Her eyes flew open, and she looked across the room, then up, at what had hit her, or rather, what she had hit. It was a steel table, but it was covered in age-old dust, like it hadn't been used for a while. She groaned, rubbing the sore spot on her head. She blinked twice, trying to recall last night's events. Then she remembered.  
  
She, a genetic experiment created by Dr. Jade Starkey, had crash-landed on Earth along with Susan, another experiment. She sighed, trying not to recall the painful memory of Jade Starkey's death. She drummed her claws on the steel flooring, remembering that she now helped assist a gigantic alien named Gantu. She rubbed her eyes and laid back, wondering if Susan was up yet, where she was, and if she was thinking the same about her.  
  
She was sprawled out like that for a while, clicking her tongue, staring at the ceiling, thinking of, well, nothing much, really. She then realized she was hungry. Dr. Jade usually brought her breakfast as soon as she woke up(although Susan preferred to help herself), but it was clear that that wasn't going to happen this morning. She yawned, not really enthusiastic about getting breakfast herself, as she really didn't want to leave her "bed" even though it was made up of only a blanket and a pillow on the steel floor, and wasn't that comfortable. But she knew she shouldn't expect anyone to serve her, so she reluctantly got up.  
  
As she walked into the hall, she felt cold air wash itself upon her fur, ruffling it slightly. The floor didn't help, either, being just as freezing below her padded feet. She began to wonder if she would ever get used to living here, and if she would ever find out what happened to Susan. But, she couldn't see into the future, so she figured those things shouldn't be thought of now. She paced across the floor quickly, wondering where food was kept in this place. She realized she had never really explored this place, and wondered if getting lost was possible.  
  
She stopped in place, sniffing the air. She pivoted, and quickly started toward the smell... the smell of fresh toast. It took her a while, but she finally got into the room that was giving off the appealing aroma. Strangely, no one was in the room, but food was! Her toenails clicked the floor as she ran over to a table covered with bread and sandwich fillings. Her eyes darted toward a toaster, two slices of toasted bread peeking out of it.  
  
Should she? Obviously, this was someone else's breakfast. But if she left, she would probably find nothing else, or get lost, whatever came first. And she was hungry, and looking at all that food didn't help her to resist... well, it WAS a lot of food... surely if she just took some, the owner of the food wouldn't mind?  
  
Tempted, she cautiously walked over to the toaster, looking around to make sure no one was watching. Then, she drew her paw forward, and gripped one of the slices of toast. She took it out, and smiled to herself. Well, she had left the other piece of toast, so she figured one would not be missed too much. She examined the table, then found what she wanted. A butter dish. She gingerly lifted up the covering, but was disappointed to find it empty. Sighing, she covered it back up and took a bite out of the plain toasted bread. Well, it was better than nothing.  
  
"Hey!" A voice made Kasey jump. She turned around nervously, and innocently swallowed the bite of toast. She immediately recognized the voice, and her sight confirmed she was right.  
  
It was 625. Holding a stick of butter. This immediately made Kasey feel hot with embarrassment. "Oh---I suppose you're wondering why I took without asking..."  
  
"Listen, if you want to steal breakfast, next time pick a new victim, okay, Orphan Girl? That toast wasn't supposed to be for you." He walked over to the table, unwrapped the stick of butter, and put it in the butter dish.  
  
Kasey felt insulted. "I wasn't stealing. I just don't know where to get food around here. And, hey! Be grateful. I only harmlessly took one slice of toast. I even left one for you!" She pointed her paw to the other slice of toast still in the toaster.  
  
625 took the toast out, and spread the butter onto it. Kasey watched, waiting for a reply, one paw on her hip, moving up and down as if dancing, but by the expression on her face she was hardly enjoying herself. 625 shot her an annoyed glance. "Do you HAVE to do that?! It's annoying! Don't you have a glass of orange juice to snatch or something?!"  
  
Kasey snorted. "I told you---I don't steal! I just wanted something to eat!" She finished off her piece of toast, now grinning slightly.  
  
A reply came this time, although it was not a very nice one. "Well, I'm sorry, but if you want to eat around here, you're going to have to drop the damsel in distress act."  
  
"I am not a damsel in distress, and if I was, it would be because of all the distress you people are putting on me!" Satisfied with her remark, Kasey quickly grabbed the buttered toast right out of 625's paw before he could eat any of it. Kasey grinned triumphantly, biting into the toast and walking quickly out of the room before any more could be said.  
  
As soon as she made it back to her "bedroom", she sighed, swallowing the last of her toast. Strangely, she was beginning to feel a bit better. Was she... dare she say, having fun? Without Dr. Jade Starkey or Susan there? Yet... it was exciting. Something actually warmed her in that cold ship... she didn't know what it was, but her mind vaguely told her that... maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
~~  
  
Susan sat outside the front door of the Pelekai's, playing with a stick. She snapped it in two, then threw the pieces on the ground, watching as the smaller piece rolled out a little further. She realized how much her and that stick were alike. She, too, felt like she had been snapped in half. She liked it here, yet she would never feel rested until she knew where Kasey was and if she was all right. And also, there was the fact that Susan was feeling strongly for Stitch, yet she knew he must already be in love. She felt torn, broken like a twig. She did not know what she should do.  
  
"Are you depressed? You didn't have breakfast, and you were acting all mopey." Susan didn't even turn to look. She knew it was Lilo behind her. "You know, if you're depressed, I know of a good therapy."  
  
"As if that would help." Susan mumbled. "I just wonder where Kasey is..." Susan figured she shouldn't bring up the fact that she had a thing for Stitch. She didn't want Lilo to confirm her suspicions and say he already had a love.  
  
"You mean that other experiment you told us about?" Lilo guessed. "I bet we'll be able to find her!"  
  
"How do you know?" Susan wanted to know.  
  
"I'll just go get Stitch! We're expert experiment trackers! And since you know what she looks like, we will find her in no time!" Lilo rushed back into the house to fetch Stitch.  
  
Susan hoped the little girl was right. And maybe, just maybe, if her and Stitch worked together like that, maybe he'd forget about who he was in love with and turn his sights to Susan instead. She hoped.  
  
When the three of them were riding in that low, red vehicle, Susan felt herself bob up and down as she tried to get used to it. Lilo noticed her "pain". "You'll get used to it after a while, you just have to go with the flow. Right, Stitch?"  
  
"Ih!" Stitch agreed. But now he looked at Susan, which made her face grow hot. As they sped over a hill, despite her gloom, Susan felt herself call out with the others excitedly. "Whooo!" Her mouth curled into a grin, showing off sparkling white rows of teeth. This was fun. Susan was always a daredevil---she could never have this kind of fun with Kasey around. Suddenly, the vehicle screeched to a stop, jogging Susan's memory into the fact that they had a "mission"---finding Kasey---not having a joy ride, even though that kind of fun appealed to Susan.  
  
"This is it," Lilo announced, "Gantu's ship!"  
  
Susan studied the large ship's crash site carefully. "You really think she's---in there?"  
  
"Well, we didn't see her around. I have a feeling that Gantu took her!" Lilo said in an angry voice. Stitch growled in agreement.  
  
Susan started to look a bit worried. "Who is this Gantu anyway? Someone bad?"  
  
"Yes, very bad most of the time!" Lilo exclaimed, holding out her hands like a monster. Then she let them drop at her sides. "But he has a good side. He's just stubborn. I think his parents forgot his birthday once or something..."  
  
Susan smiled, admiring the creativeness of this child's mind. She followed them as they all got out, and started towards the ship.  
  
~~  
  
"Hey---I could've sworn there was a soda left..." Gantu looked in the refrigerator, scratching his head. Then he shut it and headed into another room where Kasey and 625 were seated on a sofa, watching something on TV. 625 was eating sandwiches. Typical. But Kasey... was drinking a soda! "Hey! Is that my soda?"  
  
"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't." Kasey and 625 both gave Gantu a taunting smile when Kasey said this. She drank some more of the soda, obviously in bliss.  
  
"Why you---! Eh! Ugh---!" Gantu exclaimed.  
  
625 chuckled. "What's the matter, Fish Lips? Can't think of a good comeback?"  
  
Kasey snorted. "Like he actually could." They both burst into laughter, and Gantu looked like he was about to blow up.  
  
"You took my last soda!" Gantu growled. "Why do the both of you have to make it your sheer pleasure to torture me?!"  
  
Kasey put out her lower lip, pouting. "Aw, it's because we love you!" The sound of their laughter made it perfectly clear she wasn't being sincere---obviously. Gantu didn't say any more, but stormed out of the room.  
  
625 smirked at Kasey. He nodded his approval. "Not bad, Girly---not bad at all."  
  
Kasey smiled, showing the tips of her two front teeth. She drank the last bit of soda and the two went back to watching TV.  
  
~~  
  
Lilo, Stitch, and Susan scampered across the ship's flooring, having found their way in. Susan barely managed to lift up one of her small ears, listening for something---anything. "Are you sure she's here? I don't hear anything."  
  
As soon as she said this, Stitch quickly ran off somewhere. Before Susan could ask, Lilo said proudly, "Stitch has very advanced hearing."  
  
Saying Susan was impressed was an understatement. She smiled, feeling different, much different than she had in years, and said, "Let's go after him."  
  
However, before Lilo could answer Susan was after Stitch at a speed that could rival his, quickly catching up to him. Lilo raced desperately after them. "Hey---wait for me!"  
  
And they were getting closer and closer to finding Kasey by the minute. In fact, they were so close, that she could hear them. She looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, and who was making it.  
  
"Did you hear something?" She asked 625.  
  
625 didn't look away from the TV. "What?"  
  
Kasey sighed. "Nevermind." Maybe it had just been her imagination. Although her imagination usually wasn't that noisy.  
  
"Not you again!" Gantu's voice boomed from down the hall. Which startled Kasey.  
  
625 noticed, and finally took his eyes away from the TV. "Oh, don't worry about that;you will get used to it. He always gets like that around noon."  
  
Kasey stared at him with an upraised eyebrow, but didn't say anything. That's when Stitch, Susan, and Lilo ran into the room, with Gantu following them. Now Kasey REALLY looked confused... but happy. Susan had found her! Well, now she knew she was all right.  
  
"Susan!" Kasey exclaimed at the same moment Susan exclaimed "Kasey!" The two ran to each other and hugged, which was usually a rare sight concerning them.  
  
625 looked at them awkwardly. "Um, I hate to interrupt this sappy sugar fest, but what in the name of sandwiches is going on?"  
  
"Well, this is Susan, an experiment also created by Dr. Jade. She crash landed here too. So, where have you been staying, Sue?" Kasey smiled.  
  
"You KNOW I don't like to be called that!" Susan complained. "I've been staying with Lilo and Stitch. And we've come to take you back with us."  
  
Lilo smiled. "Nani wasn't too happy with letting Susan stay, but I'm sure if I do a lot of kicking and screaming and yelling, she'll let you stay, too."  
  
Kasey looked embarrassed. "No, that's okay. I want to stay here. So you don't have to bother with the trouble of getting me to stay with you."  
  
Susan and Lilo looked at each other. "Maybe she forgot to take her medicine." Lilo suggested.  
  
"Or maybe she was brainwashed!" Susan pivoted, facing Gantu, pointing a finger accusingly at him. "You did this to her, didn't you?! You're going down, buddy!" Susan charged towards Gantu, and began to punch his feet.  
  
But Gantu kept staring at Susan with googly eyes. "You're the most lovely experiment I've ever seen... you can take your good-for-nothing friend and you can stay instead."  
  
"Hey! You'd better not accept that offer, Sue!" Kasey yelped.  
  
"Eeeww!" Susan backed away. "There's no way I'll do that!" Then she looked to Kasey. "Come on! Hurry! We can help you escape!"  
  
"Escape? Why would I want to escape?" Kasey looked at Susan as if that were the craziest thing in the world.  
  
Susan raised a brow, looking around. "Because you're being held captive here by a giant fish and a sandwich-loving idiot?"  
  
"Hey!" 625 complained. "I don't call you names! Though give me time."  
  
Susan looked confused. "Hey, waitaminute! How come you aren't all googly-eyed over me too?"  
  
"If you expect everyone to drool over you, you're going to get no where in life, Shorty." 625 put together another sandwich.  
  
Kasey waited for Susan to blow up. She, Kasey, had ridiculed Susan enough over her short height for her to get annoyed at it. And as she expected, a comeback came. "Well, you aren't going to get anywhere in your life either, if all you do is sit on your bum and make sandwiches!"  
  
"'Bum'? What kind of language do you speak, anyway?" 625 snickered.  
  
"That's weird..." Susan whispered under her breath to herself. Her charms didn't work on 625, either. Was he perhaps in love, too? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Hey, are you crushing on anybody?"  
  
625 almost choked on his sandwich. "What?! I'm not interested in girls. I'd have to check every day if I was all in one piece."  
  
Susan thought this over. Were her charms irrelevant on males who weren't interested? No. Dr. Jade had specifically designed her to attract all males except those in love. So, if 625 wasn't attracted to her... then he must be in love. But he didn't seem to want to admit it. Why? Who was he in love with?  
  
"So, you'd rather stay here with Gantu, and be a part of his evil plans, than come back with us where you can be a part of our ohana?" Lilo asked Kasey, a bit confused and hurt.  
  
"Evil plans? That guy wouldn't know of an evil plan if it bit him on the nose." Kasey snorted. "And even if he did, I would not be a part of them. I just want to stay here, because, you know... it's something new."  
  
Hmmm. Susan thought of those things more, then began to place the pieces together. 625 wasn't attracted to her, so he must be in love with someone else. And Kasey did not want to leave, when Susan could see no real reason why she would want to stay. As the picture seemed to get clearer to her, she wondered... was it possible? Nah. It couldn't be---could it? Was---?  
  
But she had to find out. "Kasey! I need to talk to you for a minute."  
  
Kasey raised her eyebrows. "O-kay."  
  
"Maybe she wants to ask you for hair tips or something." 625 suggested.  
  
Susan was insulted. "And what's wrong with my hair?" No male had ever, EVER treated her like that before.  
  
"I don't know, that clump of hair on your head bugs me. It makes me want to get a pair of scissors and chop it off." 625 admitted.  
  
Kasey knew Susan was getting angry, and that her fuse was already lit and about to make her go off, so Kasey pulled her way into the hallway where no one could hear what they were saying.  
  
"Okay, now what is it, Munchkin Girl?" Kasey asked.  
  
"I told you not to make fun of my height! I rather like being short." Susan pouted.   
  
Just then, Gantu started to make his way towards them, never taking his eyes off of Susan. "Just one little date?"  
  
Susan rolled her eyes. "I'll handle this." She stepped in front of Gantu. "Listen, Chub Head. I seriously do not, never desire to, and never, EVER, EVER will want to be your girlfriend. So back off!"  
  
Gantu walked away, rather sullenly. Kasey giggled. "So, what is it you want to tell me?"  
  
"Well, it's more like ask you. Why do you want to stay here, anyway? I can't think of any real reason." Susan put her paws on her hips, waiting for an answer.  
  
Kasey looked nervous, and her eyes quickly skimmed the halls. "I... I just thought it would be neat living without you, Sue."  
  
Susan sighed. "Cut the crud, Missy. I know there has to be a reason why you're staying here... I mean, an ACTUAL reason."  
  
"Like what? You think you're so smart." Kasey sighed.  
  
"Maybe I am, if I'm right. Are you..." Susan lowered her voice, looking around. "...in love?"  
  
Kasey looked surprised, and took a step back. "What?! What makes you think that?! I am NOT in love with Gantu, if that's what you're thinking!"  
  
Susan shook her head. "No. Ew. Even you wouldn't be weird enough to fall in love with the giant tuna guy. So let me finish. I also could not figure out why my charms didn't work on 625. Then you said you didn't want to leave. Then I began to place everything together."  
  
Kasey's eyes got wide. "No, wait---you don't think me and him are---in love or something?"  
  
"It makes a lot of sense, and clears a lot of things up. For one thing, if you two are in love, it explains why my charms did not work on 625, and it also explains why you want to stay here. 625 isn't attracted by me because he's already in love with you, and you don't want to leave because you want to be near him, because you're in love with him! That's why!" Susan explained.  
  
Kasey swallowed. "N-no! I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not crushing on 625!"  
  
Susan nodded. "Uh huh. Stop denying it, already. You're not good at denying things. I can see it in your eyes. You think he's cute, don't you?" Susan went over and glanced into the other room. "He's kinda' cute. But not as cute as---oh, nevermind."  
  
"I'm not denying anything! I'm not interested in him! I don't think he's cute! And don't look at him like that!" Kasey yelped.  
  
Susan chuckled. "If you aren't interested in him, then why don't you want me to look at him? And don't worry about it. I'm not interested in him. He's cute, but his sarcasm gets to me. And I can't really stand lazy guys besides. So he's all your's."  
  
Kasey pouted. "What makes you think I want him for myself, anyway? And I think you're in love, too. You keep looking at that blue, fluffy experiment guy all goofy-like."  
  
"Okay. So I am in love with Stitch. But at least I admit it. You won't admit you're in love with 625 when it's so obvious. You look at him like you just seen an angel descend from heaven, which couldn't be further from the truth." Susan exclaimed.  
  
"Right! Because he's not my crush." Kasey insisted.  
  
"Okay. Fine. You keep on saying that. But I think you're his crush." Susan smirked.  
  
"Really?" Kasey's eyes suddenly brightened.  
  
"Yes. He seems to look at you in the same way. But also like you, he'd probably never admit it. Which is sad, because you'd make a cute couple." Susan smiled, then walked away grinning.  
  
Kasey put her finger to her mouth. Was it true? Was 625 crushing on her? For some reason that made her feel different, and she quite liked it. But the real question was... was she crushing on 625?  
  
THE END  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued 


	3. Only the Beginning

...I am feeling somewhat brave today. I've decided to post chapter three as well. Nyeh, but I don't have much to say for another introduction. So just read it.  
  
Chap. 3: Only The Beginning  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rain splattered against the window in Kasey's "bedroom". She listened to the soft sounds of the pelting rain... she always did love that sound. Rainy weather was her favorite, and she enjoyed watching it like a TV show.  
  
She put one paw on the window, the glass being the only thing keeping her from making contact with the rain water. Then she began to think of what had happened only some time ago.  
  
Susan, Lilo, and Stitch had been here hours ago to take her back to the Pelekai's with them. But something had held Kasey back, had prevented her from leaving here. She had not been sure what that was, she just knew that something drew her here. And because of what Susan told her, she might just know what that thing was now.  
  
It might be because... she was in love. She had denied it to Susan, of course, and she would deny it to anyone else who asked her. But she wasn't sure if she could deny it to herself. She did feel something... but she didn't know if it was love. She had never loved anyone romantically before, so the feeling was new to her. Could it be possible that she had feelings... romantic feelings, for 625? Was she crushing on him? Susan seemed to think so.  
  
But she shouldn't just take Susan's word for it, she told herself. She should find out on her own. If she really was in love, she would discover that on her own. Her heart would tell her, and she would follow it.  
  
So many things... so many new feelings and things she had experienced since their crash on Earth. She had never felt like this, or even thought of feeling like this, before then. And she wasn't sure if she was ready for such new experiences yet. As for Susan, she welcomed change with open arms. She was always ready to try new things, and was, or seemed to always be, in the driver's seat. Kasey, however, wasn't comfortable about change. She was almost afraid of it...  
  
She shivered, and pulled her blanket up around herself. Well, at least Susan agreed to visit once in a while, and she agreed to visit her, too. So at least they could have talks once in a while on their visits. But as for now, Kasey never felt so alone. She felt alone in a world she did not know, full of things she did not recognize.  
  
A knock then came, but not on the door, as Kasey didn't have one, but a knock on the wall. Which gave off a strange, peculiar sound, for the wall was made of some sort of metal. Kasey turned around to see who had knocked.  
  
She didn't know why, but she felt a little embarrassed when she saw that it was 625. He was holding some sort of package, a package with cloth tied up with rubber band. He looked a bit embarrassed, too, but he went up to her and handed her the package. "Susan insisted I give this to you..."  
  
Kasey gingerly accepted the package from him, and as soon as she did, he quickly disappeared from the room. She looked at the package curiously, stroking the cloth fabric with her paws, very careful not to snag a claw on it. Then, finally, she took the rubber band between her claws and lifted it from the cloth. The cloth automatically fell flat, revealing what was in the package.  
  
It was a sandwich. A simple ham and cheese sandwich. Kasey smiled, not at all disappointed at the simplicity of her gift. She giggled. That was just like Susan, to tell 625 to give her something. Kasey wondered what Susan bribed him with in order to get him to give her something. Well, it didn't matter. Even though this gift had been bribed out of him, it made Kasey feel good. Which brought her to wondering once more if she had feelings for 625. She would usually be annoyed at getting a gift that she had only received because the giver had been bribed.  
  
She picked up the sandwich and bit into it, her eyes full of light, unknown to her. For some reason, she felt as if her soul had just been lifted to heaven as she ate it. Nothing could make this moment more perfect, she thought. Nothing except... if 625 were here right now.  
  
She stared in astonishment at what she had just thought, and swallowed. She stared back out at the rain, which was pouring much harder now. Had she... just thought that? Yes. She had. She gulped. She... WAS in love. She was almost sure of it. She wrapped the uneaten half of the sandwich back up, planning to save it for later. But she knew that that sandwich would always be the best she would have ever eaten. She smiled... she was tired, but she did not want to go to sleep yet. She was going to get to the bottom of this now.  
  
She roamed the halls of the ship once more, now more accustomed to where everything was than she had been before. Silence seemed to coat the ship like a thick fog, but she knew no one was asleep yet. Finally, she got to the room she was looking for. "The living room", if that's what you wanted to call it. Well, it had a sofa and a TV, so Kasey supposed that made sense. This was the room that her and 625 had only been in earlier, when it had still been afternoon time. But the sky was darkened now, and full of rain.  
  
Kasey's ears drooped, disappointed, as she realized he wasn't there. She didn't feel like looking any longer, so she collapsed on the sofa, which was more warm and inviting than her "bed". She sighed, beginning to close her eyes...  
  
"Hey, what're you doing here?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you live in the storage room?" Kasey looked up, and was happy to see who was looking down at her. 625.  
  
Kasey tried to hide the fact that she was glad to see him. "I don't live in there. And I can sleep out here if I want to. I am free to do so."  
  
"Fine. Stay there. Just don't bother me as I watch late night TV." He took a seat next to her and switched on the TV.  
  
Kasey knew he was expecting her to go to sleep, but she wanted to find out... she wanted a sign, or something, showing her that she really was positively in love with him, and that she wasn't just kidding herself. And she knew she wouldn't find out if she went to sleep. "So... what are you watching?" Casual conversation. Perfect, she told herself.  
  
"Some old black and white movie." 625 mumbled as a reply.  
  
Kasey cocked her head, and her left ear twitched a little. "Cool." She thought that a lame answer, but she couldn't think of anything else better to say. Like he was really paying attention to her, anyway. Kasey pouted. If 625 really was in love with her like Susan said he was, why wasn't he paying her any mind?  
  
Kasey fell back against the couch, her eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy. She was tired, and here was the perfect place to fall asleep. She was warm and the flickering light of the TV seemed to lull her into slumber...  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" 625's voice right in her ear made her snap back awake. She groaned and stretched a little... and felt strangely warm, but in a different way. She was lying against something soft, something soft, warm, and furry... she began to nod off again, but 625 stopped her. "Get off of me!"  
  
Kasey snapped completely awake. Then she noticed... she was leaning against 625's arm! She immediately sat up straight in the middle of the sofa, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just..." She yawned.  
  
"You should go off to bed, Sleeping Beauty. I'm not your pillow, and I don't intend to be." He complained.  
  
"Don't worry about it. It won't happen again." Kasey yawned once more. It was still difficult for her eyes to stay open...  
  
She ended up falling back to sleep, but not on 625's arm, thankfully. When the movie was over, 625 turned off the TV, then looked down at Kasey sleeping peacefully on the sofa. He smiled at her with an amused look, and grabbed a nearby blanket, placing it upon her. Then he started to walk away...  
  
As soon as he did, however, she unconsciously grabbed his arm, making him freeze in place. He looked over at her, turning around. She still slept peacably, but she was still holding on to his arm. Finally, he stirred her awake. "Let go!"  
  
"Huh? What?" Kasey opened her eyes, looking around. Then she noticed whose arm she was holding onto. She was more embarrassed than ever. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She quickly took her hand away, freeing her grip.  
  
"Ya know, I'm beginning to think you see me as more than a friend, although I don't know where you got that since I didn't even know we were friends." 625 exclaimed.  
  
Kasey swallowed. Then she tried to look cool, as if it were no big deal. "We're not. I was just really tired, so that's why those things happened. I don't see you as a love interest. Why would I be in love with some lazy slob for?" Of course, those words she didn't mean. But she couldn't let him know she might be interested in him!  
  
"Well, you're not exactly a prize pig yourself!" 625 shot back.  
  
Kasey felt a little hurt. If he was crushing on her, he had a funny way of showing it! "I can't believe that Susan said you---" She quickly shut her mouth. What was she thinking?  
  
"Go ahead, Valentina. What DID Freak Face say?" 625 asked curiously.  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"Come on, it has to be something."  
  
"It's nothing, okay?" Kasey insisted, getting up from the sofa. "Nothing important!"  
  
"And yet you have such a strong defensive reaction..." 625 noted.  
  
Kasey sighed. There was no point. He'd eventually drag it out of her anyway. "Well... she sort of said that you were in love with me."  
  
625 blinked, staring at her for a moment, speechless. Then he burst out laughing. "Whatever gave her such a crazy idea?!"  
  
Kasey knew he wouldn't admit it even if it was true, but him saying this still made her feel a little disappointed. But she shrugged. "It's because she was created to attract all males except those in love, and since she definitely didn't attract you, she knew you already had a crush."  
  
625 was still laughing. "But what made her think---it was YOU?!"  
  
Kasey pouted. "Hey! What's wrong with me?"  
  
625 looked at her seriously, although he was still obviously trying to contain his laughter. "Do you REALLY want me to answer that?"  
  
Kasey thought about this. "No. On second thought, I don't."  
  
"Good. Because you wouldn't like it." 625 started to walk away again, but Kasey again grabbed his arm, stopping him.  
  
"Wait."  
  
"There it is with that again. I told you you are the one in love! Not me." He insisted.  
  
"No. Listen to me. I think we can find out if we really are in love." Kasey said nervously.  
  
"How? Are you going to shoot me with an arrow or something, Cupid?" 625 asked, half-joking, half-serious.  
  
Kasey looked at the floor as she spoke. "No... I think, that um, we should... you know, kiss?"  
  
625 looked at her as if she had just fallen out of the sky and asked how his day was. "Kiss?! Have you completely lost what little brains you have?! There's no way I'm kissing you!"  
  
"Well, I just thought if we kissed it would tell us whether or not we liked each other! Sheesh!" Kasey complained.  
  
"How can a sloppy smack on the lips tell anyone anything?! It's disgusting, if you ask me." 625 told Kasey.  
  
"I wouldn't expect you to understand. Don't you know that a first kiss is special? And if it means something, it'll be like fireworks going off?" Kasey daydreamed, sighing pleasantly.  
  
"You know what your problem is? You watch too many soap operas and cheesy sitcoms." 625 pointed out. "Like anything REALLY happens like that in real life."  
  
Kasey was annoyed. "Any MORE of my hopes and dreams you want to crush?"  
  
With a satisfied smile, 625 said, "No, I think that pretty much covers it."  
  
"Yeah, and if we just kissed to see if we were in love... well, I wouldn't want to waste my special first kiss on YOU..." Kasey smirked.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't want to waste mine on you, either! I bet you kiss like a horse." 625 smirked as well.  
  
"I bet you kiss like a frog! Too bad you wouldn't turn into my handsome prince." Kasey shot back.  
  
"Even the handsome prince wouldn't want to kiss you!"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't kiss you even if you WERE a handsome prince!"  
  
...And then the impossible happened. After this line of insults being thrown back and forth, their faces got so close that... yes! They touched lips and kissed! Neither one of them had seen it coming, it just... happened. The kiss wasn't very long, and ended rather painfully when Kasey received a nick on her lip, though.  
  
"Ow! You bit me!" Kasey complained.  
  
"Well, I've got a worse complaint! YOU kissed ME!" 625 shot back. "I was right! You DO kiss like a horse!"  
  
"Well, I still think you kiss like a frog! But with teeth. Ow..." Kasey rubbed her lip, which was bleeding just a little.  
  
625 rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! Whoever heard of such a thing?"  
  
"Well, look at this nick you gave me!" Kasey pointed out the sore on her lip to prove her point.  
  
"Oh, gimme a break! You're just being a baby." 625 snorted.  
  
"I am not! That really hurt! Do you know what it's like to get bitten on your first kiss?" Kasey complained more.  
  
"Hey! It's not my fault if I have an overbite!" 625 pointed to his teeth. "And let me just get some things straight here so that your oh-so-colorful imagination won't go into overdrive. Firstly, just because we kissed, doesn't mean we're going to be a couple from now on. The last thing I want is a girlfriend. I'll never be interested in you, okay, Love Princess? As far as this kiss thing goes, it NEVER happened. You tell no one. Not even that scatterbrained, uppity friend of your's."  
  
"Susan?" Kasey guessed automatically.  
  
"Who else?"  
  
Kasey thought these things over. Then she nodded. "Okay. Okay. The kiss never happened. Like there's much to tell, anyway."  
  
"And means nothing."  
  
"And means nothing." Kasey repeated, although she wasn't really sure if that were true. She started to back out of the room, and finally ran back into her own. She collapsed in the blankets, and looked back out of the window. She noticed that the rain had lessened a little.  
  
Which was how she felt. She felt that the weather in her own soul had turned less gloomy. Even though she had been bitten on her first kiss, she... she still had her first kiss! Sure, it could've been better. It could've been WAY better. But, as mushy as Kasey thought it was even by thinking it, it still meant a lot to her. She knew that she couldn't forget it just like that. She picked up the partially eaten sandwich from earlier and smiled.  
  
No. She would never admit it, no way, no how, but now she knew for sure she was in love. She was in love with 625, and she knew it, but she would never admit it. Kasey and 625, for now, would be nothing but friends, if you could even call them that. Partners or allies, maybe. But they weren't a couple, and if they ever would be, it wasn't anytime soon. Which was just fine with Kasey.  
  
Satisfied with her thoughts, Kasey bit into her sandwich, and started polishing off the rest of it. She watched the lessening rain for a few more minutes before she went to sleep, and had one last thought. This was only the beginning. There was much more down the road for them all to face. The kiss couldn't be forgotten forever. Three words, those three words rang throughout Kasey's mind as she slept... only the beginning.  
  
~~  
  
Susan sat on the fence at the Pelekai house, looking up at the stars. It was barely raining now, although some drops still fell, and Susan's fur was soaked. She had snuck out of the house when she was sure everyone had gone to sleep. She had needed to think, raining or not.  
  
Like... was she doomed to live in a fantasy life? She had tried everything she could think of to get Stitch's attention. Nothing had worked. Susan didn't enjoy rejection, especially from someone she really liked! But what could she do? She had tried numerous things already.  
  
Then, a noise caught Susan's attention. It sounded like someone was walking quickly across the ground... towards her! The fact that someone could find her out here startled her, and she knew she had to get down from the fence. But she was spooked so that she didn't have time to think, and she flipped over the side of the fence!  
  
She covered her eyes, but instead of hitting the ground painfully like she imagined would happen, she felt herself fall into someone's arms! She had been caught! But by who? She uncovered her eyes.  
  
Oh my gosh, she thought. She thought she was going to faint. Yup, you guessed it. She fell right into the arms of experiment 626, or otherwise known as Stitch. She couldn't believe it. She had been trying to get his attention all day, and here she was, in his arms. She should've thought of falling off a fence before! Not that it had been intentional.  
  
"You all right?" Stitch asked her.  
  
Susan felt like squealing when she heard his voice. "Yes, I'm fine! But you can carry me back inside."  
  
Stitch didn't have any problems with this. He gladly carried her up to the house, although this meant more to Susan, more than Stitch would ever comprehend. But Susan knew... if she ever expected Stitch to even consider her, she had to say something. But it had to be less awkward than blurting out, "I love you."  
  
"Stitch, wait..." Susan stopped him as he was about to go through an open window.  
  
"Yeah?" Stitch cocked his head curiously.  
  
"Would you like to..." Susan considered her words carefully, then said, "maybe go to a restaurant tomorrow? Just you and me?"  
  
Stitch looked confused. "Uhhh... sure."  
  
Susan couldn't help beaming. She had a date with Stitch! Although, he didn't know it was a date. Actually, she wasn't sure what he thought it was. But it was like a date to her! And she definitely couldn't wait until tomorrow.  
  
When Susan was deposited in her crate bed and the covers pulled over her by Stitch, she watched him as he went across the room and got into his own bed. She sighed, wondering if tomorrow would make things different. Would a date change things between her and Stitch? Would he finally begin to look at her in a new light? Would he finally forget about whoever he was already in love with? And just who was he in love with? As she went to sleep, she was positive of one thing. This was only the beginning, for Stitch and Susan, and for 625 and Kasey.  
  
THE END  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued  
  
Okay. Ech... just to clear some things up, this fanfic will NOT center solely around romance. Just the beginning chapters kinda' do. I PROMISE that other things happen, too. I'm not the kind of person that writes sappy love stories without any real plot. So don't worry about that. Okay? Okay. Review and be nice. 


	4. To Risk it All

Hello. I know I've been gone for a while, again. (You'll get used to it, that is, if you're brave enough to come back.) But first, I have something to say to Ri2 (if you're still reading this anyway):  
  
To Ri2: I am sorry you had to think that. But in no way did I ever intend to make Susan "slutty". I am against such things... I didn't know she'd come off that way, I guess I should of thought it over, so I apologize. I didn't mean anyone to take it seriously. But I would like you to know that you have affected my fanfiction. In a later chapter, Susan gets rid of her ability. That chapter won't be for a while, though. You don't have to like her if you don't want to, I just wish you wouldn't think her slutty, because I'd never, EVER put something like that in my fanfiction. Okay then. Here is chapter four.  
  
Chap. 4: To Risk It All  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kasey stretched, sprawled out on the steel floor, her blanket lying messily across her body. She was already awake, and had been for at least five minutes. She knew it was still early yet, though. The sun was only beginning to rise, so the sky was still mostly dark. But there was a sliver of sunshine peeking in the window that cast a welcoming morning's glow across the room.  
  
Kasey did love the sunrise, but she was hardly ever awake in time to witness it. Which was maybe because she enjoyed the warmth of bed just a little more than she enjoyed the sunrise. But she was hardly warm since the only warm part of her "bed" was the single, solitary blanket that didn't seem to want to stay on her anyway.  
  
After about ten or fifteen minutes, Kasey figured that this was just one of those days when she wouldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard she tried. Those days were rare, but they did occur every now and then. Which was a shame, because Kasey wanted to see if she could get back to dreaming... whatever it was she had been dreaming. She couldn't remember. But she knew it had been pleasant.  
  
Grumbling unintelligible words under her breath, Kasey got up and headed for the galley, or the kitchen of the ship, if you will. As soon as she got there, she headed straight for the cupboards.  
  
Everything was dark, and soundless, except for the noise of her paws on the floor as she worked. She opened the cupboard and pulled out a box of bran cereal. Then she got a bowl, a carton of milk, and a spoon, and prepared herself a bowl of cereal.  
  
She sat down in a swivel chair at a round, steel table, satisfied with her simple choice of breakfast. She had just swallowed the first bite when she heard footsteps, and then the light flicked on.  
  
"Oh, it's you. I'm beginning to think I'll find you anywhere. Have you been hiding out in the ventilation systems, too?" Even if he hadn't turned on the light, Kasey would've known it was 625. He yawned, looking rather dazed, and had obviously just woken up.  
  
Kasey smirked, chewing a spoonful of her cereal. "Only in my spare time."  
  
"If you were going to get up this early, then did you have to make so much noise? You didn't have to drag me into your morning bliss." 625 complained, sighing.  
  
"I didn't think I was being that noisy." Kasey replied simply, putting more cereal into her mouth.  
  
"You DIDN'T think you were being that noisy? It sounded like there was a marching band up here!" 625 looked around suspiciously. "Are you sure there aren't more of you?"  
  
"Okay. Fine. You caught me. My secret is I know how to make copies of myself." Kasey said sarcastically.  
  
625 shook his head. "You think I don't know when someone's being sarcastic?"  
  
Kasey snorted. "Heaven forbid. I forgot for a moment that you're not always sincere."  
  
"Like you are. Now listen to me, my sweet little sugar dumpling," 625 said in a sarcastic voice, "I'M the sarcastic experiment that everyone hates. And I won't lose that title to some adorable little cupcake wannabe such as yourself."  
  
Kasey smirked. "Ooo, good one. I am sooo scared. Ha!" She got up and put her empty bowl in the sink, which clattered as she did so. Then she pivoted, wearing the same smirk. "Now you listen to me, Bucky. I am not trying to take anyone's title. As far as I know, you're just as hated as you were before."  
  
"Thank you, my fair maiden." 625 teased, and attempted a bow.  
  
Kasey shook her head and snorted a laugh. "You're hopeless. Anyway, I'm going out for a while... although I don't know why I'm telling you for." Kasey started to head out of the galley.  
  
"Since when do you go outside? Ever since you got here, you've stayed indoors. I began to think you were a vampire and that the sun couldn't touch you or else you'd suffer a hideous, agonizing death." 625 smiled, satisfied with his remark.  
  
Kasey tried to hide her amusement, but her lip twitched a little, obviously trying to hold back laughter. "Well, aren't you descriptive. Have you been studying up on more detailed ways to insult me?"  
  
625 examined his paw thoughtfully. "I might have been..."  
  
Kasey shrugged it off. "Well, nevermind. I just feel like going for a walk. So I'll see you later." With that, Kasey headed for the exit of the ship.  
  
625 shrugged. "I'm gonna' go make a sandwich..."  
  
As soon as Kasey stepped out of the ship, a chilling wind blew itself right onto her. She shuddered, placing her arms around her body. "I never knew the Hawaiian islands could be so cold..."  
  
Even with her thick fur, the cold got to Kasey easily. She was tempted to go back inside, but decided to take her walk anyway. But she still wasn't thankful for the icy breeze that would blow in her face and make her feel like she couldn't breathe for a split second. As she walked and checked out the interesting town, she found herself looking into shop and restaurant windows. Curiousity piqued her, and she loved to see what the humans had on display.  
  
When Kasey looked into a certain restaurant window, however, she was a bit surprised at what she saw. Stitch and Susan, seated at a booth! How did they go about getting admitted into a human restaurant? And were they... on a date? Kasey snickered.  
  
At that moment, the door opened as a customer walked out. Kasey saw her chance, and slipped in before the door closed. Then she made a beeline straight for Stitch and Susan's booth.  
  
"Hey! Psst! Susie!" Kasey whispered harshly from behind Susan.  
  
"Aahhhh!" Susan screamed, which made everyone in the restaurant look in her direction. When she saw it was only Kasey, she calmed a little, but she didn't hesitate to stare at her angrily. "What are YOU doing here?!"  
  
"You're still the same ol' high-strung Susie, I see." Kasey noted. "And, I don't think it's the matter of what I'M doing here. It's the matter of what YOU'RE doing here."  
  
Susan looked at her paws. "I'm... we're... just---"  
  
Kasey smirked tauntingly. "Susie Cusie has a daa-ate! Susie Cusie has a daa-ate!"  
  
Susan quickly put her paw over Kasey's mouth. "Okay, so it's kind of a date---but you don't have to let the whole world know!"  
  
Kasey peeled Susan's paw off of her mouth, and looked around. "Got ya. We can't let anyone know about your top secret, right? If anyone found out you and Stitch were dating... oh, I can't think of the consequences!" Kasey put her paw to her forehead in a dramatic fashion.  
  
"Now THAT's why I don't want you here. You always pick on me! When we're in the same room, there's never any peace." Susan pointed out.  
  
Kasey ignored Susan's comments. "So, how were you two allowed in here, anyway? No offense, but this is a fancy restaurant, and you two are a little less than civilized. Especially Stitch." Kasey nodded in Stitch's direction.  
  
Susan looked over at Stitch. He was ravenously eating his spaghetti like a true dog might, and he splattered sauce and noodles all over the place. When he had cleared his plate, he sat up and burped... rather loudly. Again, everyone's attention was turned to their booth.  
  
"Nice date, Cinderella." Kasey commented, but Susan knew that she, was of course, being sarcastic.  
  
"Shut up, Freakazoid!" Susan exclaimed, and stuck a breadstick in Kasey's mouth. Stitch burst out laughing.  
  
Kasey took the breadstick out and glared at Stitch. "And just what is so funny?"  
  
Stitch immediately stopped laughing and sat up straight innocently. "Nothing. Not you!"  
  
That made Susan laugh, which triggered Stitch to laughing again, too. Kasey continued to glare at them with an "I'm-not-amused" look, but calmly took a bite out of the breadstick and said, "Go ahead, Lovebirds. Continue with your lovey-dovey routine. Go on with your date. You'll never even know I'm here."  
  
Susan rolled her eyes. "Oh, believe me. We'll know you're here."  
  
That's when Stitch accidentally knocked over a glass of cold ice water right into Susan's lap. She sprang up at once, startled by the cold sensation of the water. Kasey couldn't help giggling, which made Susan send her a Look.  
  
Stitch looked more than sorry for what he had done. "Susan. I am sorry."  
  
Susan stared into Stitch's apologetic eyes, and automatically melted. "Oh, how can I NOT forgive a face like that? Oh, Stitch! It wasn't your fault."  
  
Kasey rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother! I think I'm going to throw up my breakfast. Anything'll be better than hanging out here in Sugary Love Land." With that, she ate the rest of the breadstick and headed out of the restaurant, and neither Susan nor Stitch really even acknowledged her disappearance.  
  
So she was walking outside on the sidewalk again, alone. It seemed as if no one really noticed her, as if no one really cared. She knew she should've headed back to the ship, but she felt herself heading off in the opposite direction. And although she wasn't sure why, she didn't stop herself. She noticed that it was really windy now, and when she passed the sandy beaches, the wind kicked up sand in her face and made her wheeze. But she continued on... towards wherever she was going.  
  
As she walked around, she came across a cliff overlooking the sparkling blue ocean. She admired the view, breathing in the salty air and letting the wind blow wildly against her. But standing as close to the edge as she was when it was as windy as it was, was a big mistake.  
  
...A big gust of wind came up and made her lose her balance, and she fell over the edge! Thinking quickly, she reached out her paw and grabbed onto the edge of the cliff. She tried to get back up, but every time she tried, it felt like she was just going down lower. And the part of the cliff that she was holding onto was beginning to crack!  
  
"H-help me...!" Kasey squeaked.  
  
~~  
  
"Hey, where's the female?" Gantu asked, coming into the galley where 625 was making sandwich by sandwich.  
  
"Oh, she went out for a while. She wanted to take a walk or something." 625 replied, spreading mayonnaise on a slice of bread.  
  
"I can't believe it!" Gantu exclaimed.  
  
"I know! She actually came out of her coffin in the daytime."  
  
Gantu groaned. "I have another experiment to catch. Since she's my assistant, she should be there to assist me. And as my other assistant, I want YOU to go find her."  
  
"Me?! You're the one that wants to find her. So you go." 625 bit into one of the sandwiches.  
  
Gantu growled, and picked up 625 by the nape of the neck. "Either you go, or I'm going to make sure there's no bread around here to make your sandwiches with." With that, he dropped 625 to the floor.  
  
"Ow! Okay, okay! You don't have to get rough about it! I'll find her, but if I come back with fang marks in my neck and start sleeping in the daytime, I'm blaming you." 625 ate the last of his sandwich and headed for the exit.  
  
~~  
  
The tips of Kasey's claws were about the only things making sure she was still holding onto the edge of the cliff. She felt her heart racing, hanging so far above the water. She was NOT a good swimmer, and if she fell, she would drown. She was sure of it. But it was getting to be very difficult to hang on.  
  
"Help me! Why can't anyone hear me?!" Kasey yelled, for about the millionth time. Her voice was strained now from all the calls of distress she was crying out.  
  
Not known to Kasey, someone was searching for her, and he wasn't far away. But she had had just enough of calling out for help that didn't seem to be coming. And that's when the edge of the cliff beneath her claws broke off. She let out a shrill scream that could be heard for miles as she fell further, but luckily she grabbed onto a twig that jutted out of the side of the cliff.  
  
Fortunately, her scream did reach the ears of 625. And he seemed to faintly recognize it. "Was that---? No, it couldn't be... could it?" But he headed off in the direction that he had heard it anyway.  
  
Just in case someone had heard her scream, Kasey screamed one more time for good measure. But her voice was incredibly hoarse now, so it wasn't as loud as her last one. She sighed. She was doomed. No one was going to save her. This is it, she thought.  
  
"Kasey?!" Someone was calling her! Finally.  
  
"I'm hanging from the cliff!" Kasey shouted back. "Help me!"  
  
Moments later, she saw 625 staring down at her. "Hey, I know I said you were a vampire, but that doesn't mean you should take it seriously and try to fly off of a cliff!"  
  
"This is no time for dumb jokes! Just help me up. I can't swim too well!" Kasey complained, trying to desperately hold on to the branch.  
  
"You should've thought of that before you started playing on cliffs."  
  
"I wasn't playing!" Kasey growled. "Just help me up NOW and I will spare your extremely pointless life."  
  
"NOW who is the one telling dumb jokes?!"  
  
"HELP ME NOW, THIS IS NO JOKE!"  
  
"All right, fine! You don't have to get your fangs in a frenzy!" 625 walked cautiously over to the edge. "Um, do you mind if I go get Gantu for this one?"  
  
"Are you kidding?! His weight will crack the whole cliff, and it'll knock me into the water!" Kasey exclaimed. "C'mon, this is no time to be a coward. My life is in jeopardy here!"  
  
"Yeah, well, if I try and help you up, that could put my life in jeopardy, too. And between my life and your life..." 625 shrugged.  
  
"You are SO low." Kasey snarled. "You're despicable. I can't BELIEVE I ever kissed you! I can't believe my lips ever touched your's! UGH!"  
  
"Hey hey hey! I told you. That kiss never happened!" 625 reminded her.  
  
Just then, the twig that Kasey was holding onto began to crack. It could no longer contain her weight, and finally snapped... as Kasey began to fall once more!  
  
She screamed again, more loudly than ever before. But she watched, astonished and wide-eyed, as 625 dived for her and grabbed onto her arm! Kasey could feel his pulse racing too, as he hung over the edge, barely holding on to her.  
  
"I... I can't believe it..." Kasey whispered. "You're actually risking your own life to---"  
  
"Shut up and be quiet! Just let me pull you up!" Kasey nodded as 625 tried to pull her back on the ledge. Finally he successfully pulled her up and the two rolled across the ground from the sudden force. When they sat upright, Kasey was in 625's arms.  
  
But she was too shaky from what happened to really acknowledge that he was holding her. When she spoke, her voice trembled. "I... I could've died! You could've, too." She shivered, then smiled a little. "You risked your life... you risked it all... for me." She gave him a quick kiss on the nose.  
  
"Don't be looney! And what's with you and kissing me? Ugh." 625 wiped at the spot where Kasey had kissed him on the nose. "I just saved you because Gantu needed your help in catching an experiment, that's all!"  
  
Kasey rolled her eyes. "And YOU call ME looney?" She snorted. "That's no reason to risk your life for mine. But love is. You love me, don't you?"  
  
"No! I don't even like you, my lovely little sugar plum." 625 said automatically. "And get out of my arms! What if someone see's us? They'll think I actually care about you or something."  
  
"Oh, excuse me for soiling your pathetic little reputation." Kasey immediately scrambled out of 625's arms and onto her feet. She brushed off her fur as if being in his arms had given her "cooties" or something. "I'm heading back to the ship now. I'll meet you there in about an hour when you finally make it there."  
  
"Are you saying I'm slow?" 625 asked.  
  
"No, you're a LITTLE faster than a snail." Kasey smirked, and started to head in the direction of the ship.  
  
"Hey! I can be quick if I want to! I could beat you to the ship and still have time to make a sandwich or two before you got there! I could if I wanted to! I just don't want to." 625 called after her, and began to follow her at a slow pace.  
  
"Yeah. You don't want to do a lot of things. See ya, Chubby!" Kasey happily started running off in the distance.  
  
"I was mistaken. She's not a vampire. She's a witch!" 625 mumbled to himself.  
  
Kasey ran, feeling happy and free, as the wind rolled against her as she ran into it. When she and 625 had kissed that one night, she had known that she was in love. But she still had not been sure if 625 felt the same for her. He might've had an infatuation, but Kasey wasn't sure if he had been in love with her. It didn't seem like he had been. But now Kasey was sure that he was. He would never have risked his own life, the coward that he was, for her's if he did not feel deeply for her. And that made her feel extremely happy. She had never felt like this before. She felt like she could do anything. The world seemed to be opened completely for her.  
  
Nothing could spoil her mood now, she thought. She never knew that something as mushy as being in love could feel so wonderful. She was still amazed that 625 had risked it all for her, but she knew in her heart that she would've done the same for him. No words could ever describe how she felt. Ever.  
  
THE END  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued   
  
And AGAIN! Don't take some things too seriously. I'm saying this to everyone. I really don't know how to put it... I was really reluctant to post another chapter, but if you want to, review and don't scream at me for little things, okay? (I'm not implying that anyone was screaming at me, I just like to exaggerate sometimes) ... 


	5. Party of Remembrance

Yes, chapter five. I really don't have anything to say here except that I changed this chapter's title. The original title was stupid and too long. I still don't like it, but whatever, you came here to read the chapter, not the title. So here it is.  
  
Chap. 5: Party of Remembrance  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Positioning the pencil in her paw, Kasey wrote, "Dear Susan," on a piece of writing paper. Yup, you guessed it, she was writing a letter to Susan. She tapped the pencil against her lip as she thought about what she was going to write. As she put the tip of the pencil against the paper, however, she was a bit surprised as a drop of grape jelly fell onto the space she was just about to write in.  
  
"Whatcha' writin'?" Kasey sighed when she heard the voice, although she had already known who it was before he had even spoke. Even so, she turned her head to look at who was sitting in the middle of the couch, looking over her shoulder at the letter while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  
  
Kasey stared back at the piece of paper that was blank except for the words, "Dear Susan". She tried to forget that someone was watching her and tried to concentrate on the letter. But nothing came to her. She thought for a moment more, then thought she had it. She wiped off the smudge of jelly and began to write, only to be cornered with yet another smudge of jelly, only bigger than the last, which caused the pencil lead to break.  
  
Kasey groaned. "625, why are you bothering me?"  
  
"Because it's what I do best, darlin'." 625 grinned.  
  
Kasey got up and went over to the pencil sharpener and placed her pencil into it, turning the handle while she spoke. "Yeah, well, you made me break the pencil lead, and you got jelly all over my letter. I am trying to write to Susan."  
  
625 looked at the letter while eating his sandwich. "Yeah, I know. That's what it says;'Dear Susan'. In fact... that's the ONLY thing it says. Don't you know how to write letters? I don't think she would understand your ability to write invisible words."  
  
"Ha ha." Kasey said unenthusiastically, examining the now sharp point of her pencil, and walked back to the couch and grabbed the letter from 625. "FYI, I just haven't written anything else yet. That's what I was trying to do before you started hovering over me and got jelly all over the paper. Look at this! It's all sticky, and you got your peanut buttery fingerprints all over it! I can't mail this to Susan with it looking like this! She'll think you wrote it!"  
  
625 grabbed a fresh sheet of paper from a nearby table and took the pencil right out of Kasey's paw. "Hey, that's not a bad idea! Now, I know what to write to her!"  
  
Kasey dropped the sticky paper and looked at 625, wide-eyed. "No! I am not letting YOU write to her! Who knows what you'll say!" Kasey then proceeded to chase 625 across the room for the pencil and paper. He successfully avoided her while writing on the paper at the same time(he had since finished his sandwich). Finally, he climbed to the top of the couch as he wrote the last of it(and as Kasey tried to grab it time and time again).  
  
"There! Finished!" Climbing down from the couch, he handed Kasey the letter, and she immediately snatched it away from him.  
  
Kasey sighed, but proceeded to read the letter anyway. "'My Dearest Fuzz Brain'," Kasey read aloud, and glanced up at 625, who smiled innocently at her, then she continued to read, "'I am sorry you're not as attractive as you think you are. Perhaps it's the nose. Your nose is so small that it looks like you don't have one, and that is just disgusting! I am also sorry that you have the IQ of the pencil lead I'm using to write this with---but maybe if you get a nose transplant no one will really care! And you really should get rid of that clump of hair hanging in your face. It makes you look desperate. My Dearest Love and All of That Mushy Stuff, Kasey.'" Kasey raised a brow.  
  
"Ingenious, isn't it?" 625 smirked.  
  
"Are you kidding? I can't give her this." Kasey insisted, then got a fresh sheet of paper. "It has to be in my handwriting." Then she copied down every word onto the new paper, and when she was finished, stood up proudly.  
  
"So how did you like my heartfelt words?" 625 teased.  
  
"Heartfelt?" Kasey snorted. "This is nothing more than an insult letter." She smirked. "I couldn't have done better myself!" She gave 625 a high-five, then bounded out of the ship in order to mail her treasure.  
  
~~  
  
Sometime in the quiet evening, an extremely annoyed Susan came barging into Gantu's ship---while holding some sort of card in one paw and the letter Kasey had mailed earlier in the other. She went into the "living room", where she knew Kasey and 625 often were. And this evening was no exception. She found them lazing on the couch eating potato chips and sandwiches. Kasey was also reading some book as she ate, but besides eating, 625 was doing nothing at all, really.  
  
"EXCUSE me!" Susan practically shouted, in order to get their attention. She put her paws on her hips. "Don't you two CARE what all that stuff DOES to your bodies?!"  
  
"Not really." Kasey replied, barely paying attention. She turned the page in her book and put a potato chip in her mouth.  
  
Susan didn't like being ignored. "Will you pay attention! Put down that book for a second and listen to me!"  
  
"'Kay." Kasey put down the book for a second, then picked it up and started reading again. "Time's up! Always happy to oblige. Seeya later!" She waved unenthusiastically, as if she expected Susan to just waltz out and leave.  
  
"Very funny. I'm serious here. I want to know WHY you sent me a letter that does nothing but criticize me, and I WANT to know why NOW." Susan demanded.  
  
"Because even the letter can't resist!" 625 joked, laughing.  
  
Susan stared angrily in his direction, but Kasey spoke up before her secret crush suffered any bodily injuries. "Oh, cool it. I couldn't think of what to write, so 625 wrote the letter for me. Then I copied it in my own handwriting. It was all in good fun, Susie. You shouldn't take that stuff seriously."  
  
But, unfortunately, Susan looked angrier than before. "Oh, I swear, when I'm finished with you," She said, looking in 625's direction, "you're going to have to eat through tubes for the rest of your life!"  
  
Luckily, Kasey jumped down from the couch and grabbed onto Susan's arms to stop her from attacking 625. But Susan tried to get free from her grasp. "Let me go! He deserves to writhe in pain like the horrible... good-for-nothing... despicable creature that he is! I can't stand his type! He takes much pleasure in insulting others, but then when someone wants to beat him up for it, he turns chicken! He makes me sick! He doesn't deserve to be breathing the same air that we do! Heck, he doesn't deserve to breathe at all!"  
  
"Susan! Control yourself. He isn't worth it!" Kasey yelped.  
  
625 began to sweat, cowering in fear as the angry Susan got closer and closer to him. "Yeah, listen to her! I'm not worth it! I'm really not!"  
  
Finally, Susan stopped, and shook her head. "You're right. He ISN'T worth it. He isn't worth anything. But if he knows what's good for him, he won't EVER treat me like that again, or else the simple act of breathing is going to seem like a difficult task for him." She gave him one more angry look before Kasey let go as she began to calm.  
  
"Hey, what's that you're holding?" Kasey asked, quickly changing the subject. She pointed to the card that Susan was holding.  
  
Susan brightened a little. "Oh, this?" She asked, holding up the card. "Well, Lilo's family went out tonight, and Stitch and me offered to stay behind and watch the house. And we're going to take advantage of this opportunity and throw a party! We invited all of Stitch's 'cousins'. You know, the other experiments? And, well, you're not Stitch's cousin, but you are another experiment and my best friend, so I decided to invite you."  
  
Kasey took the invitation from Susan. "'You are cordially invited to a party at Stitch and Susan's house.' Cordially? I didn't think you knew those big words. And I'm your best friend? Really?" She grinned.  
  
"Not if you insult me like that." Susan said, smirking. "So. Are you coming or not?"  
  
"Well..." Kasey considered it.   
  
"Hey! What about me? I'm an experiment, and Stitch's cousin! Aren't you going to invite me?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
Susan looked at him. "...Uh... well, yes, that may be true, but you need an invitation to get in, and I don't have any more invitations! Sorry."  
  
"No. You just don't want me there!"  
  
"Well, I was CONSIDERING inviting you..." Susan admitted. "But when I got that insulting letter, and found out you originally wrote it, I wouldn't even want you at my funeral!" Then she looked quickly to Kasey. "So? Have you made up your mind yet?"  
  
Kasey licked her lips. "Well, I would like to, but I..." She glanced a bit sadly in 625's direction.  
  
625 looked just as sad. But he sighed and said, "Go ahead. Who's stopping you? You know you want to."  
  
Susan moved in front of Kasey so she couldn't look at 625. "Kasey, don't look at him. If you do, you'll want to stay here, and I really want you to be there."  
  
Kasey looked over Susan's shoulder. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Why are you being so sickly sentimental all of a sudden? Go!" 625 insisted.  
  
Kasey sighed, and threw her arms up in the air. "Okay. You win. I'll go."  
  
"That's more like it." Susan grinned. "Now come on. We don't want to be late." She started heading for the exit.  
  
Kasey reluctantly followed, but as she headed out of the exit, she glanced over her shoulder and glimpsed 625 glancing sadly, and almost longingly, in their direction. She hated to admit it, but she felt so sorry for him. Yet, she followed Susan to her party anyway.  
  
~~  
  
Music washed over the room. Lights danced across the ceiling and walls. Everyone... well, almost everyone, was dancing and having a good time left and right. Yes, it was Stitch and Susan's party. And the only ones that weren't dancing and having a good time were Susan and Kasey. They were at the back of the room, leaning on the refreshments table. Kasey was eating a chocolate chip cookie while Susan was going on and on about something that Kasey couldn't care less about.  
  
"...look! Just look at them!" Susan was saying. "And look at her! I can't believe her! She thinks she's going to get away with it! Well, I won't let her take him away! Not while I'm around! And will you quit chewing that cookie?! The noise is deafening!"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't just stuff it in my mouth, swallow, and choke myself to death for your convenience." Kasey said sarcastically.  
  
Susan ignored her comment, and continued on with what she was saying. "But just look at them! Doesn't she look scheming to you?!"  
  
Kasey swallowed the last of her cookie. "For the last time, WHO? I can't give you my opinion if I don't know who the heck you're talking about!"  
  
"Stitch and Angel!"  
  
"Angel?"  
  
Susan pointed to a pink experiment dancing with Stitch. She looked similar to Stitch, and had two very long, slender antennae coming out of her head. Her stomach, chest, neck, chin, the patches around her eyes and the inside of her ears were all light pink while the rest of her body was dark pink. There was a V-shaped white mark on her chest. "HER. SHE'S who Stitch is in love with."  
  
"How do you know?" Kasey wanted to know.  
  
"Are you dense?" Susan snorted. "Don't you see how he's looking at her? And they've been dancing together ever since we got here! I've been trying to cut in for hours, but Stitch keeps telling me to wait. Can't you tell? He's practically drooling over her!"  
  
"Oh, jealous, eh?" Kasey smirked tauntingly.  
  
"But I can't help it... Stitch already paid practically no attention to me, and when he's around Angel, he doesn't even know I'm alive! I should be the one dancing with him." Susan pouted.  
  
Kasey picked up a cup of punch from the table. "Well, I don't have a dancing partner either, and I'm not complaining about it. I'm hanging out here at the refreshments table in Losersville with you."  
  
"That's it! I'm going over there and demanding to cut in, and if they don't let me, it's going to be completely over between me and Stitch!" Susan stomped over to Stitch and Angel.  
  
Kasey raised an eyebrow. "Since when did things ever even start?" She sighed as she watched Susan rush off to claim Stitch for herself. At least there was someone at the dance for her, even if he was interested in someone else. As for Kasey, she wasn't having any fun. She was beginning to regret ever coming here.  
  
Then Kasey felt someone tap on her shoulder, and she turned around to see who it was. It was an experiment she had never seen before. He was an aquamarine color and had a megaphone type thing that was curled upon the top of his head. His tail was long and had dark blue stripes on it. His ears were long and drooped like socks from the sides of his head and had dark blue tips. Kasey smiled at him, and he at her...  
  
"Kasey?" Susan's voice called from behind her. "Stitch turned me down again. He still wants to dance with Angel. But I don't want to bore you. You should have fun and dance with someone. Maybe even Yaarp there. That's who you're staring at."  
  
"Yaarp?" Kasey repeated, and Yaarp came closer to her. She felt awkward, but she said, "Want to dance?"  
  
Yaarp nodded, gave out a gentle blast from his megaphone, and took her hand and led her to the dance floor. They then proceeded to dance together, and Kasey finally started to have fun. She danced happily as if she were in a daze. Her mind wondered and she wasn't really aware of her surroundings or what was going on, she just knew she was having a good time. But what snapped her back to reality was a warm feeling against her lips. She opened her eyes and the reality of it hit her like a ton of bricks. She was kissing Yaarp!  
  
She quickly pulled away, and felt hot, hot with a horrible shame. She felt as if everyone in the room was staring at her, although that was probably just in her mind. All she knew was she had to get out of there. She ran out of the house and into the dark of the night, the cool air relieving her a little. But only a little. She had kissed Yaarp! How could she have done that? Even though her and 625 weren't a couple, she still felt guilty, like she had somehow betrayed him. She felt like crying at her mistake, but didn't. Why had she done that? Why had she kissed Yaarp? She wasn't in love with him. She was in love with 625. But perhaps... she wanted more than to just be in love with him. Was that why she had kissed Yaarp? Because she desired to be 625's girlfriend---instead of just his crush? Had this been in her heart when she had accidentally kissed Yaarp? It could be possible. But there was no way 625 would ever ask her out, and if Kasey asked, she would just be ridiculed. She felt trapped---trapped in a room that was slowly closing in on her. Trapped to only love 625 in her heart, but to never tell him. And how she wanted to. Yet... something always held her back.  
  
"Kasey?"  
  
"Huh?" Kasey turned to look, and when she saw who was standing across from her, she felt the horrible shame return. It was 625, and he didn't look very happy. What was he doing here? Did he know---?  
  
"I decided to come here and spy on the party from the window. And I---I saw you kissing experiment 613." 625 explained.  
  
Kasey swallowed. "You mean Yaarp?"  
  
625 raised a brow. "Yeah, whatever. I guess you two will be very happy together. Call me when you get engaged, okay?" He was meaning to be sarcastic, but his voice wavered a little and he looked hurt---he actually looked hurt!  
  
Right at that moment, Kasey wanted to admit everything. She wanted to say, "I don't love Yaarp! I love you! And I want to be your girlfriend! I really, really love you!" But those words didn't seem to want to allow theirselves out of Kasey's mouth. But she couldn't let him believe she had a thing for Yaarp, so what she said was, "I don't love Yaarp. And I didn't mean to kiss him. It all happened so fast. I wasn't even paying attention to what was going on! I didn't know I was going to kiss Yaarp until it was too late."  
  
625 looked a little relieved, but unsure. "Are you telling the truth?"  
  
Kasey smirked. "Why, do you actually care?"  
  
"No! I don't! I was just wondering."  
  
"Well, you can wonder no longer. I just met Yaarp, and he's nice and all, but he's not for me." You are! Kasey wanted to add.  
  
And that moment was like no other. That is when 625 and Kasey kissed---for the second time. Except, now when their lips touched, it was different than last time. It was a sweeter, longer kiss;and Kasey felt like she was in heaven. She felt like they were the only ones in the universe, like there was no one else, that their kiss was the only thing taking place in the world. It was wonderful, and Kasey wondered if 625 felt the same.  
  
When their lips parted, Kasey couldn't help smiling. "You didn't bite me that time."  
  
625 stared at her for a moment. He looked speechless, but then he said, "Whatever, Lovergirl. You're weird. Kissing random people isn't going to get you a boyfriend. I can't believe you're that hopeless and desperate for a date." With that, he walked off, beaming.  
  
And yet, still nothing changed. Kasey couldn't resist beaming either as she followed.  
  
THE END  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued 


	6. Lost While Camping

This is one of the best chapters IMO, so I hope you like it. ...That is all.  
  
Chap. 6: Lost While Camping  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I have an announcement to make!" Gantu announced, coming into the galley where Kasey was reading a book at the table and where 625, also at the table, was making a sandwich.  
  
"You finally have a brain?" 625 snickered. Kasey smiled in an amused way without looking up from her book.  
  
"No. I'm sending you two away." Gantu was beaming now.  
  
Kasey dropped her book. "Away?! But I have no where else to live!"  
  
"Yeah, Chub Face! I know we never treated you like we respected you, and we don't, but that's no reason to kick us out!" 625 agreed.  
  
"I'm not kicking you out, although that's tempting. I'm sending you away on a camping trip. I've got your things packed right now, except for this." Gantu grabbed Kasey's book right out of her paws.  
  
"Hey! I was reading that!" Kasey pouted. "You made me lose my place!"  
  
"Well, you can find it again while you're riding the bus. It will take you out in the woods where you two can set up camp yourselves. That should be good training for the both of you. In fact, Dr. Hamsterviel recommended it. You won't get in shape laying around all day." Gantu told them. "Now, come on! You're going to be late for your bus."  
  
"Do we have to?" 625 said in a whiney voice. "Maybe we don't WANT to get in shape."  
  
"I am bigger than the both of you put together, and when I say you're going, you're GOING." Gantu exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, we'd better obey now, or else the big bad fish guy will send us to our rooms." 625 said to Kasey in a sarcastic voice. Kasey snickered, but didn't say anything.  
  
"I'm being serious here. If you two don't get your tails out there, I'll just carry you out forcefully and throw you in the bus, rather painfully I might add." Gantu threatened.  
  
"I think we'd better do what he says. He's getting to be a little more intimidating with his threats." Kasey pointed out.  
  
"Who, Gantu? That's all they are is threats. I'm not intimidated." 625 insisted.  
  
Gantu growled, and was just about to grab 625 when he jumped from his chair.  
  
"Okay, okay, fine, we're going! But I don't like it. Come on, fellow bookworm." 625 motioned for Kasey to follow, and she did, but slowly. Then they reluctantly made their way out of the ship. When they got outside, they found a bus waiting for them, and in front of the bus were a couple of duffel bags with a name tag on the both of them, pointing out whose duffel bag was whose. They both grabbed the one with their name on it and stared disdainfully up at the bus that would take them out into the wilderness.  
  
"I wonder what the driver thinks of stopping to pick up two unidentified creatures at the crash site of a space ship?" Kasey thought aloud.  
  
"He probably thinks we're two dogs who just happen to be walking on our hind legs, and who just happen to be dragging two duffel bags to take a bus to go camping by ourselves." 625 guessed.  
  
"You said a mouthful." Kasey remarked.  
  
"Yeah. Humans are stupid that way." 625 explained. "So, I guess we'd better get on."  
  
"Yeah. I'll go first." Kasey got into the bus, and 625 followed. As soon as they got in, the door closed. They discovered that they were the only ones in the bus except for the driver. The driver, by the way, was a tall, lanky guy with blonde hair and a pimply face. He wore jeans and a green jacket, accompanied with a green hat upon his head. He studied them with his green eyes.  
  
"Dude! Camping dogs!" He exclaimed. "Righteous!"  
  
Kasey and 625 looked amused as they took a seat in the back, Kasey next to the window.  
  
"Next stop, the woods!" The driver announced, and the two experiments felt a jerk as the bus went into motion.  
  
"Don't these 'woods' have a name?" Kasey whispered to 625.  
  
"I don't know, but if they do, this guy probably doesn't know what it is. He's so dense I bet he doesn't even know how to spell his own name." 625 whispered back.  
  
"If he even KNOWS his own name." Kasey and 625 tried to suppress their laughter as the bus headed towards their destination: the nameless woods.  
  
~~  
  
"Hey! Dog dudes! Wake up!" Kasey woke up to the sound of the driver's voice. She yawned, then blushed as she realized she was leaning on 625... and that wasn't the first time that happened. He didn't seem to notice though, for he woke up just as Kasey pulled away.  
  
"Let's get one thing straight," Kasey said, while pointing a claw at the driver, "I'm not a dude."  
  
"Oh. Dudette. Sorry." The driver apologized, then his eyes got wide as he realized something. "Dude! Talking dogs! That's so awesome!"  
  
"Yeah, although you can't tell anyone about us. We're top secret canine spies sent here by the navy." 625 lied.  
  
"Right. I won't tell anyone! Not even my mother, and I tell her everything. You know, there was this one time---" The driver started to say.  
  
"We have to go punish a meddling squirrel now, so we can listen to your ramblings no longer. Come on, Agent Dudette." 625 grabbed Kasey's arm and led them out of the bus.  
  
"All right! See ya, dude and dudette!" The driver exclaimed while waving to them. Then he got in the driver's seat and drove away.  
  
The experiments found themselves standing on a dirt path, surrounded by hundreds of trees. They didn't look very enthusiastic, and looked like the last thing they wanted to do was set up camp. They were silent a while, but finally, Kasey sighed and spoke.  
  
"Well, I guess we'd better find a suitable place for a campsite and... well, make camp I guess." She said dully.  
  
"You're very bright." 625 said sarcastically. "I took a class in camping once..."  
  
Kasey's eyes lit up. "Really? So you know how to make camp?"  
  
"All I'm saying is I took a class in it. I didn't say I was good at it." 625 replied.  
  
"Great. I shoulda' known." Kasey sighed. "So, Einstein, do you know enough to know where we should make camp, or did you flunk that too?"  
  
"If you want to put it that way."  
  
Kasey groaned. "Figures. I guess it's up to me, then."  
  
"You?" This amused 625. "And what do you know about camping? You hardly go outside! You don't know any more than I do, my bumpkin wannabe."  
  
"Maybe, but if I don't do anything, it's clear you won't." Kasey pointed out. She started to walk off in another direction.  
  
"And you'd be right, my studious angel from above." 625 teased, smirking.  
  
Kasey rolled her eyes. "Ohhh, it's going to be a looong day."  
  
They did a lot of walking and searching, but finally Kasey decided on a little clearing in the middle of the woods.  
  
"This is perfect!" She exclaimed. "We can build camp here."  
  
"Excellent deduction, Ranger Know-it-All." 625 panted, looking exhausted. He let go of his duffel bag and watched Kasey as she searched through her's.  
  
"Please. I'm having a horrible enough time without your sarcasm to make it worse. If whatever you say is going to be sardonic, then can't you keep your mouth shut?" Kasey sighed as she pulled out a rolled-up tent from her duffel. "I suppose you don't know how to set up a tent?"  
  
"What's the matter, Nature Girl? Forget what it said in Camping for Dummies?" 625 joked.  
  
Kasey gave him a Look. "Well, do you know how to or not?! And give me an answer without your sarcasm, please."  
  
"ANYTHING for you, my love." 625 said dramatically.  
  
"Come on! I'm serious. No goofing around. Do you or don't you?" Kasey asked.  
  
"Okay, fine. I don't. Happy now?" 625 replied.  
  
"Very." Kasey pulled out a lavender sleeping bag. "I guess we'll just have to sleep in sleeping bags without any tents."  
  
"Fine with me." 625 rummaged through his duffel and pulled out his sleeping bag, except his was aquamarine-colored. Then he continued to rummage through his duffel. "Do you know if there's anything to eat in these things? I'm starving!"  
  
Kasey thought about this. "Well, I suppose so. Gantu wouldn't send us out here without food, would he? I mean, I know he doesn't exactly like us, but he wouldn't..."  
  
625 sat back, looking panic-stricken. "I knew it! I knew there was something fishy about him sending us out here to get 'in shape'! The real reason why he sent us out here is so we'd starve to death! He's trying to kill us!"  
  
"Calm down!" Kasey exclaimed. "Even Gantu wouldn't sink that low. He probably expects us to fend for ourselves."  
  
"I can never figure out how you can be so calm all of the time." 625 marveled. "And if you think I'm going to slaughter some animal for meat, you've got another thing coming! You'll have to take care of that, Cowgirl."  
  
Kasey rolled her eyes. "No, we're not going to 'slaughter' anything. There's probably some berries and fruits and stuff somewhere in the woods that we can eat."  
  
"Yeah, poisonous berries, you mean." 625 corrected. "I told you Gantu sent us out here to die. And what do you plan on doing about it, O' Great Provider?"  
  
"We're going to search for fruit." Kasey got up from her seated position, and started to head for the dirt path once more. "And I don't think Gantu would send us to a place with poisonous fruit if he expects us to forage for food. He may be glad to be rid of us for a while, but I don't think he'd want us dead."  
  
"You don't know that! I've known him longer than you have! And where are you going?" 625 got up as he watched Kasey's form slowly disappear into the woods.  
  
"I already told you! To find food!" Kasey's voice called back. "If you want to stay there, fine with me. But as someone once said, 'He who doesn't work shouldn't get to eat.' If you stay there and decide not to help me, I'm not bringing back your share. If you don't want to go hungry, then you'll come with me and get your share yourself."  
  
"All right, all right! I'm coming. Wait up, Speedy!" 625 followed Kasey into the woods, and she waited for him until he caught up. Then they walked together, searching for anything edible in the woods.  
  
"I'm... tired... and hot. Can't we stop and rest a while?" 625 pleaded.  
  
"I told you before, if you want to lag behind, fine, but I'm not getting your share. Besides, we've only been walking for about five minutes... ten at the most." Kasey replied, but she looked just as tired as 625.  
  
"Where are we, anyway? Or do you know?" 625 questioned.  
  
"Of course I know! We're---" Kasey looked around, then realized they were no longer on the dirt path. Her ears drooped against the sides of her head and she frowned. "We're lost."  
  
"Brilliant, Sherlock. Now what?" 625 asked.  
  
Kasey stopped walking. She panted from the heat and all the walking she had been doing. "I guess we'll just have to keep searching... for the fruit, and for the campsite, too..."  
  
"Great. I knew I shouldn't have let you lead. You've gotten us lost!" 625 walked up beside her, panting a bit as well.  
  
Kasey looked up at the sky, and shielded her eyes from the harsh sun. It seemed like just yesterday that the air had been crisp with frost, and today was horribly hot. It made Kasey feel naseous, and she felt sticky with sweat beneath her fur. Then she began to feel dizzy, and her vision blurred somewhat. She started to wobble on her feet a little.  
  
625 stared at her, looking a bit confused, then somewhat concerned. "Hey! What's the matter with you?!"  
  
"I don't know... I'm feeling so... h-h-hot..." Kasey wobbled some more, and her world seemed to fade out as she fell to the ground, fainting from the heat.  
  
A cold splash against her face is what woke her up again. When her sight came into focus, she looked around at where she was. She was still in the woods, but not in the same place in the woods. At once, she realized that 625 was looking down at her. "Oohh... what happened? That water was cold!... Wait, water? Where did you get the water?"  
  
625 lifted Kasey's body up and pointed to a quickly running stream. "From there, Sleeping Beauty. What happened to you, anyway?"  
  
"I guess I just got a little too hot. I never could stand the heat. And we were walking for a while. And I haven't eaten anything today. I guess I just got too weak from the heat and exhaustion." Kasey guessed. She held her head and groaned.  
  
625 released his grip on Kasey's body, and she fell backward. Then she sat back up. She rubbed her head, but 625 didn't seem to notice. He was looking in another direction.  
  
"Ow. Why did you let me go like that? And what are you staring at?" Kasey asked.  
  
"Aren't those berries over on that bush?" 625 pointed, and Kasey got to her feet and started heading in the direction he was pointing in.  
  
Kasey's eyes shone when she was close enough to identify the red specks on the bush as berries. "Yes! They are! Oh, we won't starve after all! We're saved!"  
  
"There's one thing you didn't think of, Genius. We can't live on berries alone." 625 pointed out.  
  
"Well, we're going to have to, unless you want to become a vegetarian and eat the grass." Kasey replied, and started quickly picking berries from the bush. She walked over to where 625 was standing and sat down. Then she began to eat silently without another word.  
  
625 looked annoyed. "Hey! What about me?"  
  
"Hm?" Kasey swallowed, licking berry juice off of her lips. "Oh, I already told you. You want to eat, you fend for yourself."  
  
"Well, that's considerate for ya." 625 said sarcastically. He went over to the bush and began picking some berries for himself. Moments later, he sat down next to Kasey and joined her in their "feast".  
  
When the last berry had been consumed, they both agreed that they didn't feel like searching for their campsite, so they stayed where they were. There wasn't much to do, however, obviously because their stuff was all back at the campsite. They found theirselves growing bored, and the sky was darkening more every minute. Eventually, the two found theirselves engaging in meaningless conversation, talking about things that they would only think about saying in a time like this, when there was nothing else to do. You could say the two bonded.  
  
"...And one time, Susan and I got into this argument about science. She thought she could help Jade with a project. I didn't think she could. Well, to prove it to me, she asked Jade if she could help with the scientific experiment she was doing. Jade was skeptical, but she let her. And... right when Susan started to help... she accidentally spilled some kind of chemical and... she ended up blowing up half the lab! If only you could've seen the look on Jade's face..." Kasey snorted into laughter as she recalled this tale aloud to 625.  
  
625 started laughing along with her. "Who knew Experiment Gorgeous could be such a klutz!" They laughed hysterically together, and when finally their laughter faded into the night, they found theirselves staring into each other's eyes.  
  
Kasey was mesmerized as she stared into his two black, shining eyes that seemed to be studying her as well. She realized how different he looked in the moonlight, and she felt attracted to him. She forgot about hiding her feelings;she seemed to be hypnotized into speaking what she thought.  
  
"You know..." She began, "in this light, you're... you're kinda' cute."  
  
Surprisingly, he didn't shun or criticize her for this remark. Instead, he smiled, and seemed to blush. What was more surprising is what he said. "Well... I think... I think you're cute, too. For a girl, I mean." He grinned.  
  
"There's something I'd like to tell you." Kasey started to say. The moment just felt right... felt right to admit everything. Right to admit her feelings.  
  
625 cocked his head a little. "What?"  
  
Kasey smiled. She couldn't help it. He looked so cute that way. She swallowed. Okay, you can do this, she thought. Go right out and say it. "Um... I... I love... I love you..."  
  
625 looked taken aback. He looked speechless, and at first he didn't know what to say. Then, for another surprise, he said, "I do too."  
  
"Oh..." Kasey smiled pleasantly. They had a brief kiss, then Kasey shivered. She looked a bit embarrassed and felt awkward about that moment, though. "I'm feeling kinda' cold now... and it was hot earlier. But now it's freezing."  
  
625 looked snapped out of a daze. Then he said, "Yeah. Island temperatures can be fickle I guess..." His voice trailed off, and he looked just as embarrassed. But he tried to ignore the fact that that moment had even happened. "You getting tired? Of course, we don't have our sleeping bags anymore, so we'll have to sleep on the ground."  
  
Kasey yawned as a reply, confirming that she was tired. She tried to keep her eyes open, but she discovered that she couldn't. Soon, she fell asleep while sitting up, then she fell into 625's arms. He seemed a bit startled, but his eyes began to get heavy as well. He fell asleep, too, leaning against a tree with Kasey in his arms.  
  
~~  
  
Kasey groaned and turned over onto her back as she woke up. She stood up, and realized that 625 was no where to be seen. Where had he gone? Just as she was about to go look for him, he came walking out of the woods with their duffel bags!  
  
"You went looking for our stuff in the woods, all by yourself?!" Kasey exclaimed.  
  
"Well, yeah. Why do you look so surprised?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"It's just that... oh, nevermind. Now that we have them back, let's search through them some more. There might be something in them we missed... like food." Kasey suggested.  
  
"That's what I was thinking." 625 agreed. He dragged the bags over to Kasey, and they both began looking through them.  
  
"Hey! Look what I found!" Kasey smiled proudly, holding up a package of vanilla-creamed sandwich cookies. "It's not really nutritious breakfast, but by now I'll eat anything. I'm starved, and berries really don't kill hunger for long!"  
  
"Told ya." 625 smirked. "Hey, could I have some of those? I can't seem to find anything edible in my bag."  
  
Kasey smiled mischievously. "If you want them... you'll have to come and get them."  
  
625 grabbed for them, but Kasey snatched the package out of the way just in time. She got up and ran behind a nearby tree, then looked around it at 625, smirking.  
  
"Oh, come on. Don't play games with me. Do you really expect me to go after you for them?" 625 said in a complaining voice.  
  
"Well, if you're hungry..." Kasey shook the package tauntingly back and forth in her paw. "Here, 625! Here, boy! Come and get it!" She clicked her tongue to add to the effect of her taunt.  
  
625 rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic."  
  
Kasey frowned. She looked at the package. "Well, if you don't want it, then... more for me, I guess!" She took one of the cookies out of the package and began to munch on it. Her mischievous smirk returned.  
  
It eventually got the results she wanted, for 625 got up and went over to Kasey and almost snatched it out of her paws, but again she pulled away in the nick of time. She ran quickly around and around as 625 chased her for the cookies. Finally, he caught up to her and grabbed her, then started tickling her. She laughed hysterically and fell to the ground, although 625 continued to tickle her.  
  
"Ahem." The two looked up... and saw Gantu looming over them. He was wearing a taunting smile. "You two bonded, did you? So, has the date been set for the wedding yet?"  
  
"Ooo, Fish Boy said something clever. You want to get this down in writing, Kasey?" 625 remarked, standing up.  
  
Kasey got up as well, but she looked at Gantu questioningly. "What're you doing here, anyway?"  
  
"Yeah, and can you take us home? I really wanna' get somethin' to eat!" 625 added, while putting a sandwich cookie in his mouth.  
  
Kasey stared at him. "You're ALREADY eating something, Bozo!" She pushed him down to show her disapproval.  
  
625 swallowed. "Hey! You could've made me choke!"  
  
"Please, 625. Don't get my hopes up." Gantu grumbled.  
  
"Amazing! TWO clever things in a row! Hey, have you been looking through my notes, Chub Breath?" 625 asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"EXCUSE me! Isn't anyone going to answer my question? Am I chopped liver or what?" Kasey exclaimed, a bit miffed.  
  
"Well, to answer that question---" Gantu began.  
  
"PLEASE! I can't manage to hear THREE clever things from you in a row! I'll surely have a heart attack!" 625 covered his ears.  
  
"ANSWER ME NOW, YOU HUNK OF FISH!" Kasey shouted. Gantu and 625 both stared at her, mouths agape. "Well, he HAD it coming."  
  
"I just came here because, frankly an experiment is on the loose in those woods and I came here not to tell you, because I don't need your help, but to catch it." Gantu started to head off in the way that he had come.  
  
"Waitaminute! Don't leave us here! I'll starve!" 625 ran after Gantu with two sandwich cookies in his paws.  
  
Kasey scowled. "And again, I'm chopped liver! What IS it with you people?! I grace you with my presence, which I don't have to do, and you could care less! You two care about nobody but yourselves! I can't believe I'm associated with you guys!"  
  
"Hey, Wonder Girl! Would you bring that package of cookies? I'm still hungry!" 625's voice called from the woods.  
  
Kasey shrugged. "Okay."  
  
THE END  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued 


	7. A Bright Future

I seriously didn't think I would be putting more chapters up since I'm a little cool towards FF.net, (numerous reasons, don't ask) but I'm going to anyway, because I know some people still like it. And to the people who don't like it, either don't read it or read it and let me torture you... your choice. D  
  
Chap. 7: A Bright Future  
  
Kasey rang the doorbell at the Pelekai house, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to answer it. She needed to tell someone about what happened last night, and what she should do, and Susan was just the person to discuss that with.  
  
The door opened, and there stood Nani Pelekai. She looked confused by the appearance of Kasey at first but then she looked annoyed. "Lilo! What is an experiment doing at our door?!"  
  
Lilo bounded up to her sister's side, and peered out of the doorway at Kasey. She smiled. "Oh, that's Kasey. She's Susan's friend. She probably came to visit."  
  
"Lilo, I am not allowing another alien mutant to live in this house!" Nani exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, no. She lives with Gantu, unfortunately. But she can still visit. Don't you remember when I told you? You were asleep, but you said yes when I asked you if she could visit." Lilo reminded Nani.  
  
Nani groaned, but said to Kasey, "You can come in."  
  
Kasey cautiously walked in, and jumped a little when Nani closed the door. She admired the house she was in, recalling the memory of when she was last there: at the dance. Then she cringed. That wasn't a very good thing to remember. The dance had been a disaster, and Kasey preferred to act like that chapter in her life had never existed.  
  
"Hey, Kasey! What's up?" Susan's voice called, knocking Kasey out of her thoughts. Kasey looked up and saw Susan standing in front of her. "How have- --" Susan stopped speaking when she saw Nani staring at her angrily. "Sorry, we'll have to discuss this in my room. C'mon."  
  
Susan led Kasey to her room, which was also Stitch and Lilo's room. But when they got there, Stitch was already in the room, looking at some sort of magazine. Susan shyly went up to him. "Um, Stitch? Would you mind leaving the room for a while? Me and Kasey would like to talk some things over." She blushed, looking away from Stitch's eyes.  
  
Stitch's only reply was that he exited the room as requested, magazine in hand. Susan giggled when he had left. "Let me explain to you what's going on. You see... Nani found out about our secret party, and she grounded both me and Stitch. For a month."  
  
Kasey's eyes were wide. "Whoa. I'm gone for a day or so on a camping trip, and everything happens! That's pretty harsh... but if Stitch is grounded, too, then isn't he supposed to stay in this room also? You sent him out! He could get into trouble!"  
  
Susan shook her head. "Don't worry about Stitch. He sneaks out all of the time anyway. And so do I." Susan smiled slyly. "And what is this about a camping trip?! And what happened? Give me all the details!" Susan sat down in her crate bed, and Kasey made herself comfortable on Lilo's bed.  
  
"Well, Gantu sent me and 625 away on a camping trip, and..."  
  
"And what?!" Susan asked eagerly. "You're blushing! What happened?"  
  
"I... I told 625 I loved him. And he said he loved me, too..." Kasey couldn't help the smile that escaped onto her lips.  
  
Susan was ecstatic. "Oh! I told you he loved you! You two SERIOUSLY have to start dating! Heck, me and Stitch already had a date, and yet he STILL doesn't know that we did." She snorted. "Talk about slow."  
  
"Just give him some time, Susie. He's sure to notice you sooner or later." Kasey smiled. "But anyway, I came to talk about me and 625. What do you think I should do?"  
  
"What do you mean what do I think you should do? Follow your heart. That's what everyone is always saying about these kinds of things." Susan said simply.  
  
"I admire you for your ability to be so straightforward. But it's not as easy for me. How can I follow my heart if I don't know what my heart wants?" Kasey told Susan.  
  
"Don't be silly, Kasey. You know what your heart wants. You just have issues about admitting it. Now, you've already admitted your love for 625, so if you two happen to be in love, then you should at least go on a date. Maybe one date is all you need to become a couple." Susan said her last sentence in a singsongy voice.  
  
Kasey folded her arms. "You would love to see that, wouldn't you?"  
  
Susan looked surprised. "Of course! At least one of us should be happy."  
  
"Oh, c'mon! Stitch will come around. And if he doesn't, there's plenty more fish in the sea." Kasey smiled.  
  
Susan nodded. "Yeah. That would be the perfect summary for my life. I've had so many boyfriends, but nothing worked out with any of them."  
  
"Well, you have to get lucky sometime, right?" Kasey pointed out.  
  
"Maybe." Susan said while looking at her paws, then she looked up at Kasey. "But I know that you and 625 are meant for each other. Don't give up your chance to be with him. Because if you do, you could regret it for the rest of your life. You might not get another chance." They were both silent a while, then Susan continued speaking. "You might end up marrying the wrong person if you don't give 625 a chance. And what kind of life would that be for you? A miserable one!"  
  
Kasey chuckled. "I'm not ready to think about marriage yet. And besides, I'm just in love with the guy, I don't want to marry him."  
  
"Yet." Susan finished. "You just wait and see. Besides, marriage is not the point right now. That's something to think about later. The point now is for you to snag yourself your first boyfriend: 625."  
  
"Oh, I don't know, Susan..." Kasey looked doubtful.  
  
"What? Don't you WANT to be his girlfriend?"  
  
"It's not that... I just don't know if I can convince 625 of us being a couple. And I'm not sure if I have the guts to ask. Although don't tell anyone I'm admitting all this!" Kasey explained.  
  
"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul that you don't really despise 625." Susan promised. "But, either you do something to get you and 625 to be a couple, or I'M going to do something. If you don't want me playing cupid, then you'll stop being chicken and get 625 to go on a date with you."  
  
"I'm not a chicken." Kasey insisted.  
  
"Sure. And grape suckers don't taste like medicine."  
  
Kasey sighed. "All right, all right! I'll think of something."  
  
Susan smiled. "Good. Now go put your plan into action!" Susan shooed Kasey out with her paws. Kasey got the message and started heading for the exit, then turned on her heel and smirked at Susan.  
  
"I have a feeling you want to get rid of me." Kasey singsonged.  
  
Susan blushed. "Well, don't think I don't enjoy your company, because I do... I just need some space to put my OWN plan into action."  
  
"Another plan to get Stitch's attention?" Kasey guessed.  
  
Susan shrugged. "What else?"  
  
Kasey sighed. "Well, good luck. And stay out of trouble."  
  
"I'll try." Susan giggled. "Good luck to you, too. And remember, try and be subtle when asking 625 for a date. It'll be less humiliating for you that way."  
  
"Why must you know me so well?" Kasey complained. "I don't know how to be subtle when asking for a date."  
  
"You'll figure out something. Now go. Part of my punishment was not to have a visit more than ten minutes." Susan shooed Kasey along.  
  
"Wow, you guys got a harsh punishment..." Kasey observed.  
  
"Yeah, well, when you secretly have a big party and especially when some things get broken, well... you can expect a heck of a punishment there." Susan explained.  
  
Kasey nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. See ya!"  
  
Susan waved. "'Bye, 625's girlfriend!"  
  
"That was a really tacky thing to say, y'know."  
  
"What're you doing still here?"  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm going!"  
  
The invisible wind lifted up golden leaves off the ground and twirled them around in the sky. Then they fell limply as the wind released it's hold of them, and deposited them amongst the damp, emerald-colored blades of grass. Kasey stooped down and scooped up one of the delicate golden leaves, and spun it around between two of her claws. She smiled as she admired the leaf and listened to the whistling wind that seemed to whisper autumn in it's wake.  
  
"Autumn is so peaceful and lovely." Kasey said softly, her voice barely audible. "No wonder it's my favorite season." She sighed. "If only things could be as simple as they seem."  
  
This was one of the hardest things that Kasey ever had to face. She had never had a date in her life and she had definitely never asked for one. How could she go about doing it, without humiliating herself? And how could she be subtle about it, like Susan had instructed? Sweetly subtle...  
  
Expressing how she really felt was never one of Kasey's strong points, but she knew this was something she had to do. Susan was right. If she didn't take advantage of this chance now then the opportunity could slip right through her fingers. The only thing she had to do to catch hold of that chance was get 625 to go out with her, at least once... somehow.  
  
Then she smiled slyly, and you could practically see the gears turning in her head, forming an idea. She nodded, letting the leaf escape her paw and watched it ride the wind once more. She knew what she had to do.  
  
"625, there's... mail for you." Gantu seemed surprised, holding up a red envelope addressed to 625.  
  
625, who was watching Kasey draw on a notepad, looked up and seemed just as surprised as Gantu handed him the envelope. He looked at it from front to back. "But we don't have an Earth address. How could we have gotten mail?"  
  
"It was laying right outside, being held down by a rock, along with--- nevermind..." Gantu quickly started for the hall, but Kasey jumped up.  
  
"He's got chocolates!" Kasey exclaimed, pointing towards a heart-shaped box of assorted chocolates that Gantu was trying to hide.  
  
"Hey! You're sneaking off with my chocolates!" 625 exclaimed, folding his arms at Gantu.  
  
"I... I was just watching over them for you." Gantu made up an excuse, and handed the box of chocolates to 625.  
  
"Uh huh. Sure." 625 undid the ribbon on the box and lifted up the lid. He took out a sheet of styrofoam and poked through the chocolates. Then he picked out one and placed it into his mouth and chewed. "Caramel," he announced after he had swallowed it.  
  
Kasey's eyes shifted to the letter, and she said nervously, "Are you not going to look at your letter?"  
  
625 looked at Kasey. "Huh?" He licked chocolate off of his lips and looked down at the red envelope. "Oh. Maybe later."  
  
Kasey looked annoyed. "No! Read it now."  
  
"Well what's gotten you in a snit all of a sudden? I'll look at it later. Why should it be any of your concern?" He popped another chocolate into his mouth and looked satisfied with himself.  
  
"All you care about is stuffing yourself! Gimme that!" Kasey snatched the box of chocolates right out of 625's paws.  
  
"What is it with you and stealing my food?! I was eating that! Give it back!" 625 reached for the box.  
  
"I don't steal!" Kasey protested. "And I'll give it back if you read that letter!"  
  
"Why in the world is this stupid letter important to you?!" 625 held up the envelope. "It sure isn't important to me! If you want to know what it says so badly, then YOU read it!" He handed it to Kasey.  
  
But she pushed it back toward him. "No. I want you to read it. Please? I won't give you back your chocolates otherwise. And there's some pretty good ones in here. Caramel, coconut, fudge, strawberry, coffee, peanut butter, butterscotch, even lemon and orange flavored..." She picked up one of the chocolates and put it into her mouth, smirking slyly. "You convinced? Or do I have to tell you how delicious this one tastes in excruciating detail?"  
  
This obviously worked as you could tell that 625 was trying hard to keep from drooling. "Okay, okay! I'll read the dumb letter. But you'd better give me back the chocolates afterwards! You don't know how much you just tortured me."  
  
"Well, now you know how everyone else feels. Now read the dumb letter!" Kasey exclaimed.  
  
"Aye aye, Captain." 625 saluted and opened up the envelope. Then he pulled out a folded-up, yellow piece of paper. He unfolded it and scribbled all over the paper was a very fancy type of writing, bordered by pictures of roses. "'Dear 625, I've admired you from afar and I'd really like to get to know you better. I think you're really something special and I'd really like you to be mine, and only mine. Please meet me at the local park tomorrow at noon. We could have lunch together. It could be sort of a... date. I'll be looking forward to it. I hope you enjoy the chocolates. I'll see you then. (Heart) Your Secret Admirer." 625 shrugged and tossed it aside. "Okay, the chocolates as you promised?"  
  
Kasey ignored what he said. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"  
  
"What?!" 625 was becoming annoyed.  
  
"Are you... going to go to the park tomorrow at noon to meet... um, this girl that likes you?" Kasey hung her head to hide her embarrassment.  
  
"If it'll get me the chocolates then yes I'll meet this stupid girl at the park tomorrow!" 625 exclaimed.  
  
Kasey stared at 625 angrily. "If all you care about is your stomach being satisfied, then fine! Have your precious chocolates! Marry them for all I care!" Kasey pushed the box into 625's lap and stuffed one of the chocolates into his mouth, then she stormed out of the room.  
  
625 swallowed the chocolate. "What's her problem?!"  
  
The sun was at it's very height the next day at noon, although the chilling wind still blew the leaves around. The setting is a Hawaiian park, and so far there is no one there but the wind and leaves. Then a shadow appears on the ground, then you see the owner of the shadow: 625. He looks around cautiously, looking like he's regretting that he came. He is about to leave when another shadow joins his.  
  
"Wait." says a female voice. "I'm here."  
  
625 looks up, and looks a little taken aback. "It's you!"  
  
"Yes. It's me. Want lunch?"  
  
625 nodded. "Yeah. That's why I came. Not to see you!"  
  
The voice sighs, and then you see who it is: Kasey! (You knew that, right?) "Not JUST to have lunch. We really need to talk."  
  
"The only thing I want to talk about is lunch!" 625 told Kasey.  
  
Kasey shook her head, and brought out a brown paper bag from behind her. "Okay. Here's lunch. But there's still something important I want to discuss with you, whether you want to or not." She led him over to a park bench and they sat down. She took a hamburger and french fries out of the bag. "I stopped at a fast food restaurant," She quickly explained.  
  
"Excellent." 625 took a bite out of the hamburger, ignoring what Kasey said about the fact that they had to talk.  
  
Kasey looked a bit miffed. "C'mon, 625! We HAVE to talk about this. You know what I'm talking about. You can't just act like it's not there."  
  
625 looked confused. "Like WHAT's not there? I have no idea what you're talking about!"  
  
Kasey sighed. "Oh, I think you do. Don't you remember? When we were camping, we admitted it. How much we love each other. I know it's not something we would even think of talking about before, but we have to. We need to talk about what we are going to do."  
  
625 looked away. "That's an easy answer! We'll eat lunch, then go home and get on with our lives."  
  
"Be serious!" Kasey exclaimed. "You can't just act like it never happened! We need to decide what we're going to do. Either we become a couple, or... we just become friends, despite the fact that we have romantic feelings for each other."  
  
625 swallowed. "Do we REALLY have to talk about this? And now?"  
  
Kasey nodded. "Yes! Our whole future depends on it, you jerk!"  
  
"Since when did you start caring about our future? I know I don't care about it." 625 was about to take another bite out of his hamburger, but Kasey stopped him.  
  
"I know you DO care about it, and it is about time you admitted it. I just did, even though it leaves a bad taste in my mouth." Kasey stuck out her tongue to prove her point. "Now you're going to give me an answer, because I didn't waste my time talking about this to embarrass myself! So what's it going to be?! Just friends, or a couple?"  
  
"Well, if it's that important to you, then why don't you decide?!" 625 exclaimed, annoyed.  
  
Kasey groaned. "You KNOW it doesn't work like that. You have to decide, too. Now, what do you want, to be friends or boyfriend and girlfriend? And please give me a straightforward answer!"  
  
625 was silent. He looked at his half-eaten hamburger and sighed. Then he looked up, right into Kasey's questioning brown eyes. Then he leaned toward her and their lips locked in an affectionate embrace. Then he pulled away and touched her nose lightly with his. "Does that answer your question?" He then got up, avoiding eye contact, and finished his hamburger.  
  
Kasey got up. "So..." Her mouth twitched, fighting back a smile that wanted to show itself. "Does that mean... I'm your girlfriend? And you're my boyfriend?"  
  
"That's what you came here for, isn't it?" 625 threw the hamburger wrapper into the park trash can.  
  
"Yeah, well, I guess..." Kasey's mouth twitched again, and this time she couldn't help but let her smile play across her lips. "I can't believe it... I have my first boyfriend..."  
  
625 pivoted. "But I want you to know that this doesn't mean I will no longer make fun of you, because I will. In fact, I've gone back to my theory that you're a vampire and I plan to get some evidence on it."  
  
Kasey laughed. "Well, I don't plan to cease making fun of you, either. I still think you're an ungrateful jerk."  
  
"It takes one to know one, Sweetheart." 625 smirked.  
  
Kasey sighed. "You never change, do you? So, do you want to like, walk home holding hands or something?" Kasey scrunched up her face, as if she thought that idea disgusting.  
  
"No. Because my girl will mind her own business and let me get there before her." 625 replied, grinning.  
  
"Yeah, well, my guy will..." Kasey looked around, as if making sure no one was watching, "...eat my dust!" With that, Kasey ran off quickly in the direction of home.  
  
"Hey! That's not fair!" 625 called after Kasey. "I thought couples were supposed to be equal! You're not very good for my image, you know."  
  
"You don't HAVE an image!" Kasey called back.  
  
625 shook his head. "Curse whatever-it-was that made me fall in love with the undead."  
  
"Oh, and would you mind getting me a glass of water, Freak Face?" Susan smirked. She was sitting on the couch in the "living room" of Gantu's ship and was happily ordering Gantu around.  
  
"Yes, my love." Gantu, who was once again under Susan's charms, went to go get her a glass of water. That's when Kasey ran into the room.  
  
When Susan noticed, she looked up and smiled. "Hey! What's up? Are you and 625 a couple yet?"  
  
"Hold on." Kasey picked up a watch that just happened to be on the table beside the couch. "Twenty-eight, twenty-nine..." 625 came into the room, panting. "Thirty. Right on time, O' Boyfriend Of Mine."  
  
Susan squealed. "So, you ARE a couple now?!"  
  
Kasey put her left paw on her hip. "Yeah, but I'm thinking of sending him to Canada to see if they can find a use for him there."  
  
"A couple?! You and HER---SHE's your girlfriend?!" Gantu asked 625, laughing. "Well, just as I thought! You weren't able to do any better than her!"  
  
625 looked embarrassed, and Kasey looked angry. "HEY!"  
  
Susan simply smiled. "Oh, Gantu..." She singsonged, "where's my water?"  
  
Gantu instantly melted. "Anything you desire, my darling..." He headed for the galley to retrieve the water.  
  
Kasey looked more than grateful. "Thanks. The last thing I want is to be embarrassed in front of Gantu." She eyed Susan suspiciously. "What are you doing here? Aren't you grounded?"  
  
Susan nodded. "Yeah. But things were getting boring, so I snuck off when no one was looking. I decided to come here to see what you were up to, and when I found you weren't here, I decided to wait for you... while getting free service from," she feigned a gag, "Gantu."  
  
"You know. You could get another week's worth of grounding for sneaking off like that." Kasey pointed out.  
  
"True. But it was worth it to get to find out for sure. You have a boyfriend! Yeah, you who hasn't had a date your whole life finally is a couple with someone, and I, who am designed for automatically attracting guys can't even get myself a boyfriend! If only Stitch wasn't in love with Angel. What has she got that I don't?"  
  
Kasey tightened her lips. "Well, apparently, Stitch." Susan groaned. "I'd give you my boyfriend, but he's nothing without me."  
  
"Hey, I was ALREADY nothing without you! Wait..."  
  
Kasey and Susan laughed at 625's remark. "Nothing could be better," Kasey smiled.  
  
THE END  
  
To be continued  
  
Okay, sappy chapter, but that's what you get when you write Romance. As I've said before, (I have said it before, right?) I don't really like sappy stuff, I just write it because my life is disturbingly ironic. Anyway, I hope that despite the sentimental junk that I write, I hope you'll still stick around to read more. If not, well, the story of my existence. And that's one story you don't want to read. (Believe me.) 


	8. Cupid Strikes Again

Quick Note: I hate this chapter. Oh yeah, and if you're one of those people that doesn't like the whole Stitch/Susan thing, then this chapter isn't for you, because that's its main focus. (I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm just mean. Okay, so I'm actually a little nicer than I'm letting on to be, but I can't let you know that. I know I just did, but you aren't supposed to know that, either.) I'm just giving you a warning... if you don't like the Stitch/Susan thing, then skip to the next chapter. If you do read this one, then you can't blame it on me, 'cause I gave you a warning. Oh, and if you haven't already noticed, I suck with titles. Blahblahblahthankyou.  
  
Chap. 8: Cupid Strikes Again  
  
Lying on her stomach on the floor, Kasey flipped through a magazine, looking at pictures of valleys and countries covered in snow. She shook her head, clicking her tongue. "Snow is so pretty. Too bad I won't get to see it since Hawaii doesn't get snow."  
  
"Will you can it about snow? That's all you've been talking about lately, Ice Princess." 625 remarked, flipping through channels on their television with the remote control in his paw.  
  
Kasey stood up quickly, clutching the magazine close like a precious treasure. "But don't you understand? I've always dreamed of seeing snow! I've lived in a musty old spaceship the majority of my life as a scientific experiment. Earth is the first planet I've seen, to tell you the truth. And ever since Jade told me there was snow on Earth, I've wanted to see it. But instead, I've ended up in one of the warmest places on Earth: the Hawaiian islands." She sighed.  
  
"Didn't your so-called 'genius creator' ever tell you that snow was cold? I've seen you shiver at the slightest cold breeze! You wouldn't last five minutes out in the snow. You'd be a popsicle stick in no time and then we'd have to waste our time trying to melt ya." 625 pointed out, setting down the remote control.  
  
Kasey ignored 625's comment and ran over to him, shoving the magazine in his face. "But look! Look! Isn't it just so pretty... and light and fluffy- looking?"  
  
625 groaned. "I think your BRAIN is light and fluffy-looking."  
  
"Aw, would you look at that. The lovey dovey experiments are communicating." Gantu said, coming into the room.  
  
625 folded his arms. "Stop trying to use sarcasm. You're not good at it."  
  
"That makes me think of Susan." Kasey said suddenly.  
  
"What? Just a minute ago you were talking about snow like no tomorrow! What made Miss Priss work her way into this conversation?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"Susan isn't prissy. In fact, she can't stand people who are prissy. She can't help it if she was created for attracting guys." Kasey protested, defending Susan. "And the reason why I brought her up is because, well, she's still trying to get Stitch's attention. But she keeps failing in her attempts. I think we should do something to help her. After all, she helped me, and she's my best friend besides, even if we do argue sometimes."  
  
"Waitaminute, we?" 625 questioned. "You mean YOU, right?"  
  
"No, I mean WE." Kasey grinned. "You're my boyfriend, so I at least think you should have the courtesy to give me a helping hand."  
  
"Well, I don't." 625 insisted. "I'm sorry, but I'm not that kind of boyfriend. If you wanted a boyfriend that would do whatever you told him to, you should've set your eyes on someone like Gantu, not me."  
  
"Gantu? He's... that's... just disgusting! I could never see myself with him. Where did he go, anyway?" Kasey looked around.  
  
"Probably to propose to Susan." 625 snickered. "What, you suddenly worry about him or something?" He looked a little miffed.  
  
"No, I just..." Kasey smiled slyly. "Are you jealous?" 625 didn't answer. This made Kasey smile more. "You ARE jealous! That's so sweet!"  
  
625 snorted. "What're you gonna' do, hug me and cover me in kisses now?"  
  
Kasey thought about this. "No... I'm going to..." She grabbed 625's arm and pulled him off the couch. "insist that you come with me!"  
  
625 blinked. "Come with you? To where? I don't have time to waste my time with your twisted plots! I'm busy."  
  
Kasey raised a brow. "With what? Sleeping and eating? That's like, all you do every day."  
  
"Is not!" 625 protested. "I watch television too. And... other things..."  
  
Kasey nodded. "Yeah. Anything that won't disrupt your lazy nature."  
  
"And like YOU'RE not lazy. You like laying around just as much as I do." 625 pointed out.  
  
Kasey sighed. "Okay, maybe you have a point there. But I really think we should help Susan. And that's where we're going. To her house."  
  
"Are you crazy?! My cuz' and the little girl live there too. We're like, their enemies or something. Or at least Gantu is." 625 reminded Kasey.  
  
"Don't worry. I don't plan for anyone to see us." Kasey assured 625.  
  
"You mean... you're going to spy on them?" 625 looked surprised.  
  
"Correction, we. You're coming with." Kasey grabbed 625's arms and led him out of the ship.  
  
"Stitch, don't you think I look nice?" Susan asked, twirling around once in front of Stitch. She had the tuft of hair that was usually in her face now smoothed back and she had a light blue bow-tie on the right side of her head.  
  
"Nice." Stitch said distractedly. He was busy playing checkers with Lilo.  
  
"He didn't even look at me..." Susan said softly to herself.  
  
Kasey and 625 were looking in on them from the living room window. Kasey shook her head. "Poor Susan. She wasn't kidding when she said she couldn't get Stitch to notice her."  
  
"At least she did something about that annoying clump of hair." 625 pointed out.  
  
"She's moving out of the room!" Kasey whispered harshly. "She's probably going up to her room. We need to spy on her from there."  
  
"And how are we going to do that? Magically fly up to their bedroom window?" 625 asked.  
  
"We'll have to sneak in and go up there." Kasey answered.  
  
"Without anyone seeing us?! You're crazy!"  
  
"No. I'm just me." Kasey grabbed 625's arm again and led him over to the front door.  
  
"Will you stop that?!" 625 pulled away his arm. "You're going to pull my arm off."  
  
Kasey didn't answer, but instead looked at the door thoughtfully. She gingerly tried to open the door, but discovered that she couldn't. "It's locked. Nani must be out."  
  
"Thanks for your diagnosis, Doctor Kasey." 625 said sarcastically. "I guess that means we'll have to come back later." He started walking off, but Kasey snatched his arm yet again.  
  
"Not so fast, Toothy. I am a scientific experiment. I think I can handle a door." She studied the door carefully once more, then put one of her claws into the lock and turned. She tampered with it for a few seconds and then the door opened ajar. She peeked in, looked around, then whispered to 625, "C'mon."  
  
"I can't believe I'm going through with this. And," 625 followed and raised an eyebrow, "Toothy?"  
  
"Figure it out yourself, Bucktooth Boy." Kasey carefully looked this way and that as they snuck through the house. As they followed Susan, they watched as she went into Nani's room, closing the door. Kasey stuck out her tongue halfway as she usually did when she was studying something. And she discovered that this door was also locked, so she again had to use her claw. But when the door opened a bit, she didn't go in. She didn't have time. Susan barged out when she heard the sound of the lock being picked. Luckily, Kasey and 625 managed to conceal theirselves against the wall, and Susan didn't notice, so she went back in. But 625 and Kasey managed to slip in just before she closed (and locked) the door again.  
  
The two hid behind a chair and watched Susan as she wrote something in what appeared to be her diary.  
  
"Remind me why we're here again? All she's doing is writing in her diary!" 625 whispered.  
  
"We're here to see if she's going to think up of anything new to get Stitch's attention. And we're also here to help her along the way. And stop breathing so loudly! She keeps looking this way." Kasey replied.  
  
"Well, sor-ry. I didn't know you wanted me to suffocate." 625 looked over Kasey's shoulder. "And how are we going to help her? She needs more help than we're capable of giving!"  
  
Kasey sighed. "Yeah. This is boring. I hope she didn't hear me sigh."  
  
"I don't think she did. She's too preoccupied in that dang book she's writing in. But I heard it. I thought you were going to knock me over with it." 625 told Kasey.  
  
"Yeah, well, I've heard you sigh louder."  
  
"When?"  
  
"That one time that---oh, just look how boring things have gotten. We're talking about each other's sighs." Kasey laid on her stomach, tracing an invisible picture on the floor with her claw.  
  
"Hey, this was YOUR idea. It isn't my fault we didn't walk into the middle of a spy/romance/action/adventure movie." 625 remarked, looking just as bored.  
  
"Wait wait wait. Something's happening." Kasey watched as Susan put down her diary and got up, then sighed.  
  
"Hey! I could feel that one way over here." 625 whispered harshly. "Great. I'm being attacked by sighs."  
  
"Will you be quiet!" Kasey whispered to 625, just as harshly. "I think she's going to say something."  
  
"I can't think of anything new." Susan shook her head. "I don't think Stitch will ever notice me. Maybe I should just give up."  
  
Kasey stood up. "No! She can't give up! If she does, then our being here is pointless!"  
  
"It was ALREADY pointless to begin with." 625 pointed out.  
  
Kasey smiled mischievously. "Wait... I have an idea..."  
  
625 was wide-eyed. "Not that look! I KNOW that look! What is your brain cooking up now?"  
  
"You'll soon see." Kasey nodded. "C'mon... we've got to get out of here."  
  
625 raised a brow. "And how? We'll have to unlock and open the door! She'll notice us!"  
  
"No, she's going to open the door herself!" Kasey observed. Indeed, Susan headed toward the door, opened it, and went out, leaving it open. The two took this as their chance and escaped the room.  
  
"Can't we forget about all of this and go home? Someone could see us and get us into trouble." 625 whined.  
  
"Quiet it. Someone will hear you." Kasey warned him. She was about to walk off in another direction, then stopped. "Did you hear that?"  
  
"Yeah, it was probably my stomach. I'm hungry. Do you think we could get something to eat while we're here?" 625 pleaded, with one paw over his middle.  
  
"No, it sounded like a crash. And stop thinking about food! We're here to help Susan, not to have dinner." Kasey started off in the direction of the living room. "Come on."  
  
When they got to the living room, they found the source of the noise: a vase. There was a vase lying on the carpet, in shattered pieces. Susan was standing over it, looking humiliated. A strange-looking alien was picking up the pieces while scolding Susan.  
  
"Who's that weird alien?" Kasey wondered aloud.  
  
"Pleakley. He's strange. Go near him and suffer a brain injury for the rest of your life." 625 warned Kasey.  
  
Kasey nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"That was my---I mean Nani's favorite vase! You're in for a tremendous grounding, Young Lady!" Pleakley scolded.  
  
"Oh, great... another grounding." Susan mumbled.  
  
"Poor Susan. All she wants to do is get Stitch's attention, but she keeps getting into trouble." Kasey said softly. "Maybe we should go help her. What do you think, 625? ...625?"  
  
Not getting an answer, Kasey quickly turned around to find out what had happened to 625. She discovered him about to sneak bread off of the kitchen table. She ran over to him and pulled him underneath the table.  
  
"What'd you do that for?!" 625 complained.  
  
"Someone could see you. What'd you think you were doing?!" Kasey exclaimed while still keeping her voice to a whisper.  
  
"I told you I was hungry!" 625 snapped, annoyed.  
  
Kasey's attention was no longer on this conversation, however. She had her right ear positioned upwards, listening to something. "Someone's coming! Oh, and the door just closed. Nani must be home."  
  
They both watched as they saw numerous feet walk across the kitchen floor. Then they heard the sounds of plates and everyone talking at once.  
  
625 put his paws over his ears and leaned against one of the table legs. "Ohh, my head hurts. Why did I let you talk me into coming here?"  
  
"Because I'm plotting world domination and I'm starting with you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No, because you're not even an effort." Kasey leaned against one of the other table legs.  
  
"I smell food..." 625 said dreamily.  
  
Kasey inched away from him a little. "You'd better not drool on me."  
  
"But... I'm so hungry... and food is being eaten right above us, yet I can't go out there and get any... this is so much torture." 625 sighed.  
  
"I guess we're trapped here... we'll just have to stay here overnight I suppose." Kasey groaned. 625 groaned right along with her when she gave him this news.  
  
"Staying secretly overnight at someone else's house with an empty stomach is not my idea of a good time." 625 grumbled.  
  
"I know but you COULD stand to lose a few pounds." Kasey grinned while patting 625's stomach. 625 looked miffed, but didn't say anything. She laughed a little. "Well, at least we have each other."  
  
"Whoopee." 625 said sarcastically.  
  
"What in the world are you two snoops doing here?! Wake up and let me give you a piece of my mind!" Susan's voice rang throughout Kasey's ears.  
  
"What? Huh?" Kasey rubbed her eyes and opened them, and saw a very angry Susan staring back at her. "S-Susan! Um... so you found us..."  
  
Susan glared. "You'd better believe I did. Do you know how late it is? I came down here to get a midnight snack because I hardly ate anything at dinner time, when I heard the sound of snoring. I followed the sound to the table and looked underneath, and what d'ya know! I find you two, out like a light and snoring like a couple of buzz saws. Although you DO look cute like that." Susan tried to hold back a giggle.  
  
Kasey blushed. "Not again..." She noticed that she was again in 625's arms. "How in the world did this happen, and again?" Kasey recalled that time back when they had been camping. "Deja vu..." She sat up and yawned.  
  
Susan sighed. "At least you HAVE someone to be embarrassed of..."  
  
Kasey folded her arms. "Oh, come on. You're not going to start sulking over Stitch again, are you?"  
  
"And do you have anything left over from dinner? I'm starved..." 625 pleaded.  
  
"Yeah, I know. That's all you've been talking about!" Kasey exclaimed, irritated.  
  
"Well, I can't help it. You wouldn't let me eat anything! What kind of girlfriend would want their boyfriend to starve to death?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"Augh. Here. I don't have much of an appetite anymore." Susan threw a bag of potato chips at 625.  
  
"Thanks." 625 tore it open and began to happily ingest the potato chips.  
  
Kasey shook her head and sighed. "Nevermind him, Susan. He's been a pain all day."  
  
"'All day'?" Susan repeated. "Just how long have you been snooping around here? And why?"  
  
Kasey played with her claws. "Well... I just wanted to know how things between you and Stitch were going. And I wanted to help. Secretly."  
  
"You never did put that 'big plan' of your's into action." 625 reminded her and swallowed.  
  
Kasey looked thoughtful. "Yeah... I can't even remember what it was. I guess I had no idea what I was doing, really."  
  
625 threw up his arms. "Great. NOW she tells me."  
  
"I appreciate you trying to help, Kasey, but... you really shouldn't interfere. If me and Stitch were meant for each other, it'll work out on it's own. Look at you and 625!" Susan pointed out.  
  
Kasey watched 625 lick salt off of his paws. "I'm looking... and I STILL don't know what I see in him."  
  
"Well, I don't know, either, but you see something. And, see. You and he are a couple, and yet you spend a good deal of your time tormenting each other! If that isn't love, then I don't know what is." Susan told Kasey.  
  
"Yeah, but, come on, Susie! It's not like somebody waved a magic wand and we automatically became a couple! True, love takes care of itself, but it always needs a little nudge. You know what I think you should do?" Kasey grinned. "Kiss Stitch."  
  
625 almost choked on his potato chip. "What?! Seriously, I don't know what it is with you girls and thinking kisses change everything."  
  
Susan nodded. "I never thought I'd say this, but... I side with 625 on this one."  
  
625 looked surprised. "You do?! Finally, someone appreciates me!"  
  
"But really, Susan. What can one little kiss hurt?" Kasey wanted to know.  
  
"A lot. Like embarrassment hurt." Susan pointed out.  
  
"But maybe it's all Stitch needs to start noticing you. And if that's true, are you just going to throw that chance away? I followed your advice, and look! Me and 625 are a couple. So follow my advice. It might just work, as crazy as it sounds." Kasey said sincerely.  
  
"Yeah, but your advice is..." Susan sighed as she looked at Kasey's face. "Oh, all right... I'll do it."  
  
Kasey gave out a little shriek. "All right then! I hope it works."  
  
"It better... for your sake." Susan warned. "Now, I think you two should leave now. It's late, and I don't know how I would be able to explain the both of you to Nani without it looking like I snuck you in."  
  
"Yeah, we probably should. But one thing I'm just curious about: why did you go into Nani's room?" Kasey asked.  
  
"What?! You were in there?! I thought I heard breathing!" Susan exclaimed. "And for your information, I went in there for privacy reasons. Lilo and Stitch are always in and out of my room, because, you know, it's their's too."  
  
"Right. We'll go now then, I guess." Kasey nodded. "Let's go, 625. Although I doubt Gantu misses us..."  
  
625 almost fell over sleepily, then caught himself. "Hm? What? What's going on? Where am I? Who are you? Am I hallucinating?"  
  
"No, but you will be if you don't wake up because I'm not carrying you home!" Kasey exclaimed.  
  
"I don't think he's going to cooperate..." Susan watched 625 as he closed his eyes and started to snore, falling asleep sitting up.  
  
Kasey groaned. "Now what? I don't feel like dragging him there."  
  
Susan held her head. "Oh, I don't feel like handling this right now. I'm so very tired. Just stay here for the night. You were going to anyway."  
  
Kasey yawned. "That's a pretty good idea, because I'm exhausted too. But I don't have to sleep under the table, do I? It's very uncomfortable."  
  
"You looked pretty comfortable in 625's arms." Susan laughed. "But seriously, no, you can sleep out in the living room if you want to. I'll bring you a blanket."  
  
"Thanks, Susan. But what if Nani or someone sees me?" Kasey wanted to know.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll just explain everything, and if they don't buy it, well I've been getting into trouble lately anyway, so I'm used to it." Susan replied.  
  
"I hate that I could be getting you into trouble, but it's late, and I'm tired, so okay, I accept your offer." Kasey agreed.  
  
"All right, come on, get on the couch and I'll retrieve a blanket from my room." Susan led Kasey out from under the table and into the living room. Kasey climbed onto the couch and Susan disappeared from the room, then reappeared moments later with a green blanket. She placed it over Kasey's shivering body and said, "Good night. You going to be all right? I know you get cold easily, but you don't look so good."  
  
Kasey stretched and closed her eyes. "I'm fine. Good night, okay?"  
  
Susan nodded. "Okay..." She flicked the light off, covering the room in darkness.  
  
"Listen, Stitch. I need to tell you something very important. Please listen, okay? This means a whole lot to me." It was morning, and Susan and Stitch were standing in the living room. Susan was about to spill her feelings, and if it felt right afterwards, kiss Stitch like Kasey had recommended.  
  
...But there was one thing that Susan didn't know. Kasey was awake. She was still on the couch with her eyes closed, but she was awake. And she was listening to everything that Susan and Stitch said.  
  
"So? Are you listening to me? I just want to know, because I don't want to say this twice." Susan told Stitch.  
  
"Ih. Susan tell Stitch what she wants to say." Stitch replied.  
  
Susan nodded. "Okay..." She swallowed. "It's like this, okay, Stitch? I... I like you. I like you a lot."  
  
"Stitch like Susan too!" Stitch said cheerfully.  
  
"No... I mean I like you like you. You know, I have a crush on you. As in romantically. I'm in love with you. I know you're in love with Angel, but... maybe I can change your mind." Susan didn't consciously know she was going to, but she leaned forward and kissed Stitch gently.  
  
Kasey had had her eyes half-open at this point, so she had seen the kiss. And she couldn't help calling out, "You did it!"  
  
Susan and Stitch both looked Kasey's way, then Stitch looked slightly embarrassed and scampered off. Susan gave Kasey another one of her famous glares. "Kasey! I thought you were asleep. And look what you did! Now I'll have to wait longer to find out how that kiss made him feel. And you totally humiliated me, right in front of Stitch! I'm beginning to regret letting you sleep over."  
  
"Well, I didn't ask to! You offered!" Kasey said in a hoarse voice.  
  
Susan looked concerned. "Are you really okay, Kasey? Your voice sounds scratchy."  
  
"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm sorry about interrupting you and Stitch though. We'd better leave now. Where's 625? Is he still sleeping?" Kasey sat up, yawning.  
  
"Him? Oh yeah. He's really out of it. Still snoring up a storm, too. I wish you'd go wake him up." Susan told Kasey.  
  
"'K, I will." Kasey got off of the couch and walked sleepily towards the kitchen. "I can't let anyone who goes in there think that the table is snoring."  
  
"I don't think the table likes it much either." Susan noted.  
  
Kasey crawled under the table and moments later dragged a slumbering 625 out into the open. She shook him. "625! 625! It's time to wake up now." But he continued to sleep. Kasey shook her head.  
  
"Let me try something." Susan walked closer. "Oh, 625... FOOD!"  
  
"Huh?" 625 instantly snapped awake. "What? Where?"  
  
Kasey snorted. "Why didn't I think of that?"  
  
Susan brushed back her hair. "Because you're not as smart as I am." She joked, and laughed a little.  
  
"Where's the food?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"There is none!" Kasey rolled her eyes.  
  
"What a rip-off..."  
  
"Okay, we should really go now before anything else happens." Kasey coughed.  
  
625 inched away. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't you be getting your germs on me."  
  
Susan looked concerned again. "Kasey, are you sure you aren't coming down with something?"  
  
"If she is, she'd better stay away from me." 625 moved to the other side of the room.  
  
"Oh, gimme a break! Can't you be a little more considerate to your sick girlfriend?" Susan asked 625.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault she's sick!" 625 folded his arms.  
  
Kasey laughed. "Oh, let him be like that. If he acted otherwise, then I'd think HE was sick." She walked over to 625 and grabbed him by the ear, then led him out of the room. "C'mon, Cutie, le's go home."  
  
Susan shook her head and chuckled. "Those two are pathetic. But inseperable."  
  
Sometime later, back at Gantu's ship, the phone rang and Kasey reached over to pick it up. "Hello? Oh, hi! Really? Yeah? Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. That's wonderful! Yeah. Uh huh. Oh, no. No I don't. Yes. Oh, okay. I will. Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh huh. 'Bye!"  
  
"Boy, conversations are getting to be more and more detailed each and every day." 625 said sarcastically.  
  
Kasey put the phone back in it's cradle. "That was Susan. She gave me terrific news! She and Stitch are going on their first date." She smiled.  
  
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but," 625 began, "didn't they ALREADY go on a date?"  
  
"Yeah, but it wasn't official. This is their first official date as a couple!" Kasey exclaimed.  
  
625 blinked. "You mean my cuz' just automatically fell in love with your cuz' just 'cause they kissed?"  
  
"Well, not exactly. Stitch sort of has mixed feelings about the whole thing. He wants to take her out one more time, have some alone time with her, you know? And see if he feels attracted to her." Kasey explained.  
  
"How nice..." 625 held his head. "I hate you."  
  
Kasey chuckled. "Why? Just because you caught the flu from me?"  
  
"Not just that. Because you're making me lay on the floor." 625 complained. He was lying on a pillow with a blanket over himself on the floor. Kasey was lying on the couch behind him with a blanket as well.  
  
"Well, you could've gone in your room. You can't be up here because I have other stuff up here." Kasey motioned to the tissue boxes and boxes of crackers and books she had next to her.  
  
"I'm in here because I want to watch TV. You know, it really hurts that you care more about crackers and books than me." 625 grumbled.  
  
"I don't. They just happen to be more interesting." Kasey told 625. "Well, there's one good thing. Stitch and Susan have a chance of becoming a couple. Cupid strikes again."  
  
THE END  
  
To be continued  
  
As I said, I hate this chapter, and I hate when I get all cheesy. But whatever. Review only if you have something nice to say, because I'm not exactly in my best of moods right now. 


	9. Misery in Sickness

Chap. 9: Misery In Sickness  
  
Kasey snapped awake rather painfully when she slammed against the floor with a thud. It was dark in the room, and she coughed, then trembled, the flu still raging inside of her body. She was still in the living room, and had just fallen off the couch. Which was weird, because usually she had perfect balance while sleeping. But a lot of her senses had become clouded when she received the flu, so maybe that was why. She sighed, not even bothering to lift her weak body off of the floor. She had fallen asleep somewhere in the late afternoon prior to her sickness and had woken up late at night... maybe close to midnight or even past, she assumed.  
  
Well, it didn't seem like she was going to return to her slumber now, even if she was sick. But there wasn't much to do, either. Not when she had an achy, feverish body. So, instead she just lay there wide awake, the room silent except for the sound of breathing. Her breathing, and 625's breathing. He was still in the room, asleep on the floor, where he had been relaxing earlier because Kasey took away the couch. She cringed as the noise of his snoring began to make her throbbing headache worse.  
  
"I hate my life." She whispered under her breath. She lifted herself up, her body shaking with fever. She crawled along the floor until she bumped into something, or rather, someone else. Then she shouted as loud as her scratchy throat would allow, "625, stop that snoring before I throw up on ya!"  
  
625 quickly sat up. "What? Ohh..." Groaning, he laid back down. "Why'd you make me do that for?! You made me feel a sharp pain in my stomach! That really hurt!"  
  
"Oh, stop complaining! You would've felt a worse pain than that if you kept up that horrible racket! You were hurting my head." Kasey massaged her temples to prove her point.  
  
"You first threatened to throw up on me, and now you're threatening bodily harm? I suppose you expect me to choose my punishment." 625 stated.  
  
Kasey examined her claws. "Well, it would make things easier for me, yes."  
  
"This is ridiculous. You haven't been able to keep anything down, so what would you throw up on me? Huh?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"Well, I still have my bodily fluids..."  
  
"Eww, this conversation is disgusting!" 625 buried his head in his pillow. "You just gave me my punishment, thank you very much."  
  
"I knew that would work..." Kasey said with a satisfied smile. "I had a feeling you were squeamish. That's one thing we don't have in common."  
  
625 turned over. "Now look what you've done! I can't get back to sleep."  
  
"Join the club. Neither can I."  
  
"I'm hungry..."  
  
"So what else is new?"  
  
"No, I mean, like I've never been before! I hate being sick. I can't eat anything because I'll throw it back up. And then I'm left with that awful taste in my mouth. And you're no help, either!" 625 stuck a finger accusingly at Kasey. "You take away everything else that makes me comfortable! Like the couch."  
  
"Well, no one's using it now." Kasey pointed out.  
  
"But I don't feel like getting up." 625 whined. "I'll just stay in this very spot until the sickness is over."  
  
Kasey cocked her head. "But wouldn't your muscles get cramped?"  
  
"It doesn't matter, because I'm suffering already anyway." 625 replied. "WHY did you have to give this awful thing to me?"  
  
"Well, I didn't want to repeat myself and get you another box of chocolates." Kasey joked.  
  
"Be serious! I'm in misery here. My head feels like someone pounded it with bricks fifty times, then got hit by a helicopter's blades and ran through a coffee grinder." 625 explained.  
  
Kasey nodded. "Well... that's one way of putting it." She started to crawl towards the galley. "I'm going to get some water. You want anything?"  
  
"Yeah. Your head in a blender." 625 replied with a snort. "But for now, water will be fine, I guess."  
  
"Got it!" Kasey saluted. She made her way to the galley, still crawling. By the time she made it to the sink, she stopped and just lay there, getting some rest. She felt so achy now, as if she was being punished for moving. But she only expected to rest a little while. Not fall asleep! But yet, that's what she did. She never did get that water.  
  
The next morning, 625 had finally made it up to the couch. Now he was trying to get some sleep, as it had shunned him the night before. But just as he was about to fall to sleep, Gantu's voice boomed through the room.  
  
"Where is she?!" he exclaimed, snapping 625 awake.  
  
"Where's who?" 625 grumbled.  
  
"You know who! That slack-off girlfriend of your's!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Kasey!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Nevermind..." Gantu grumbled. "The flu has made you senile."  
  
"And who are you?! You look like some sort of morph of a biped whale." 625 remarked.  
  
"I can't find her anywhere!" Noises of Gantu trashing the next room were heard. "Usually she's with you!"  
  
"Well, I'm pretty sure she's not!" 625 shouted back, then looked thoughtful. "Wait. Was she that freaky creature that threatened to throw up on me?"  
  
"..She threatened to throw up on you?!"  
  
"...Yeah. I remember her now. The last I saw of her, she went to go get us some water. LAST NIGHT." 625 told Gantu.  
  
Gantu came back into the room. "Well, I already checked the galley. She's not in there."  
  
"Well, I don't know what happened to her!" 625 said in an annoyed voice. "Why are you looking for her, anyway? Another experiment on the loose?"  
  
"Yes, and I want to get to it before the girl and the two abominations get to it first. Ever since they've added Susan to their team, they've been able to lure a lot more experiments. Why couldn't we have gotten Susan?! Instead, we get stuck with the female version of you."  
  
"Not my problem." 625 said with folded arms. "But aren't you forgetting something, Blubber Boy? She's sick too, ya know. If you take her with you, she'll upchuck all over you. Although not like I wouldn't pay to see that."  
  
"Yeah, that's right. She probably went to go visit Susan again. The next time I see her, I'm going to punish her for being irresponsible." Gantu headed toward the exit of the ship.  
  
"Good luck. You will definitely need it." 625 shouted after Gantu. Then he tried to get back to sleep again, but for some reason, he couldn't. His conscience wouldn't let him. No matter how hard he tried, he found himself worrying about Kasey. What had happened to her? Why had she suddenly disappeared---and to where? But maybe Gantu had been right. Maybe she had just gone to visit Susan. But while she was sick? Well, you could never tell with Kasey. But because his conscience wouldn't have it otherwise, he decided to phone Susan to make sure.  
  
"Hello? Who's calling?" Susan asked when she picked up the phone.  
  
"Yeah... this is Kasey's boyfriend. Is she over there?" 625 asked.  
  
"No... unless she's over here spying again. But I'm pretty sure she's not, since she's sick. Why? Don't you know where she is?" Susan questioned.  
  
"No. She disappeared last night when she went to go get us some water." 625 explained.  
  
"Well, are you sure she isn't hiding or something? Or maybe she fell asleep somewhere." Susan suggested.  
  
"I don't think she'd be hiding for that long. And besides, Gantu totally trashed the place, so if she was anywhere here I think she'd be found by now." 625 told Susan.  
  
"Huh." Susan sounded stumped. "It isn't like Kasey to just disappear without a trace like that... well, except for when she goes off to spy on people." Susan still sounded miffed about what had happened before. "But, like I said, she's sick. What reason would she have to go off somewhere when she's not feeling well?"  
  
"That's what stumped me." 625 agreed.  
  
"I think there's only one logical explanation for this kind of disappearance, 625. Someone else, not her, is responsible." Susan guessed.  
  
"Are you hinting... that she could've been kidnapped?!" 625 exclaimed.  
  
"You really do care about her, huh? Well, I'm only saying it's possible that that might've happened. It probably didn't. A thief coming to take a mutated creature and not anything else isn't very logical."  
  
"Okay then, if that isn't what happened, then what else could it be?!"  
  
"Well, uh..."  
  
"See, you're speechless. She was kidnapped! I knew it! Now what?"  
  
"625, wait---"  
  
But 625 hung up the phone. He was now positive that something terrible had happened to his girlfriend---that she had been kidnapped. But what could he do? Was there anything he could do?  
  
"Hold on! I'm here!" Susan suddenly rushed into the room. "Don't be so quick to assume the worst!"  
  
"Speaking of quick..." 625 looked a little perplexed. "How did you get here so fast?! I just got off the phone with you!"  
  
"I'm radioactive."  
  
625 raised a brow. "Uh... okay."  
  
"Anyway, I came because I don't want you to be too hasty. Kasey might not have been kidnapped." Susan told 625.  
  
"Then what else could it be?! You still didn't answer me on that."  
  
"Maybe... she sleepwalked." Susan suggested. "She did once before."  
  
"That's ridiculous. Why would she sleepwalk when she's sick? She's definitely been kidnapped! And we've got to find her!" 625 exclaimed, determined.  
  
"I can't. My date with Stitch is in fifteen minutes. And besides, how could you look for her if you feel like vomiting at the slightest motion?" Susan wanted to know.  
  
"We'll figure out something! I just wanna'..." 625 looked at his paws. "You know... make sure she's okay."  
  
Susan smiled. "Well, look at that. You really do have a heart. And when you talk about Kasey, you have that same look as when you talk about sandwiches." Susan looked delighted. "I really do think she'll always be well taken care of when she's with you. And you obviously make her happy. Vice versa, as well."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 625 grumbled. "But if I take care of her so well, then why has she been kidnapped?!"  
  
"Will you stop saying that!" Susan exclaimed. "I told you, you don't know for sure!"  
  
"Oh, yeah? What would you do if Stitch suddenly disappeared? Huh?" 625 questioned, folding his arms.  
  
Susan sighed. "All right, all right. You've made your point. Since when did you start playing hardball?"  
  
"I knew you would see things my way." 625 smiled.  
  
"Okay, but can't we take Stitch with us? This was supposed to be our date, and I don't intend to spend it with my cuz's boyfriend. Do you KNOW how jealous she gets?!" Susan asked. "I'd be lucky if I could still stand up! Not to mention you'd be lucky if you could still see daylight." She chuckled. "Trust me. Never give her a reason to be jealous."  
  
"Okay, Stitch can come." 625 gave in. "But you'd better not kiss in front of me!"  
  
Susan shook her head. "Fat chance of that happening. Any kissing that'll be done will most likely be done on my part and not on his."  
  
"I thought you guys were a couple now?"  
  
"Not officially. We're just going out to see if it feels right, see if he feels anything for me. Only if he does will we really be a couple." Susan sighed.  
  
"So pretty much nothing has changed?" 625 looked amused.  
  
Susan sighed again. "Let's just go look for your irresponsible girlfriend."  
  
625 shrugged. "Works for me."  
  
The three of them, Susan, Stitch, and 625 were standing on the sidewalk next to a store window. Susan was busy writing something in a small book, probably her diary. Stitch and 625 both looked a little impatient.  
  
"How is this helping us find her?!" 625 demanded.  
  
"I want to record everything in my journal. But, don't worry about it. I'm keeping an eye out for alleged shady kidnappers and Kasey." Susan explained.  
  
"Well, good, then." 625 looked in a restaurant window. "Will you hurry it up? These restaurants are making me hungry. They have sandwiches in there!"  
  
"Well, I apologize for the neglection of your favorite organ, but this is important." Susan continued to scribble fiercely in her journal.  
  
625 peered into Susan's journal. "'And there we were. All of us. The three of us all alone on the sidewalk. Watching. Waiting. Thinking... where could she be... in this hopeless place we call Earth. Is all lost, or is it just an illusion... watching, waiting, thinking.' What are you doing, writing a mystery book, Sherlock? Or filling out your application to get on a greeting card?"  
  
"No and no. I'm---" Then Susan suddenly gasped.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Is that Kasey?" Susan pointed somewhere.  
  
625 squinted his eyes in the direction she was pointing in. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, he saw a blurry image of a purple creature walking along the beach in the distance. "Well... it kind of looks like her."  
  
"It KIND OF looks like her?! Don't you know your own girlfriend?!" Susan snapped.  
  
"Well, yeah, but I never get a good look at her." 625 told Susan. "Her face is always in the way."  
  
"Can't you be serious for once in a while even in a situation like this?! I think that's her. How many purple creatures walking along the beach do you see every day?!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
"Counting now... one." 625 replied.  
  
"Well, we're going over there!" Susan decided. "C'mon, Stitch!"  
  
"Get a clue, Shorty. He just took off." 625 informed Susan.  
  
"Huh?" Susan then noticed Stitch running off in the distance. "Stitch! Watch out for that tree! ...Ouch. That's gotta' smart."  
  
"Well, look at it this way. If he takes it up professionally, he can become the next George of the Jungle." 625 pointed out. "Or get a flat nose. Whichever comes first."  
  
"Hey! Going searching for your missing girlfriend was all YOUR idea! You were acting like it was the most important thing in your life a few moments ago!" Susan reminded 625. "And I thought you were sick! How come you're not nauseous?"  
  
"I am a bit, but I'm beginning to feel well enough to stand up. No thanks to you. And we'd better go after your alleged boyfriend before he hits somethin' else. Like that phone booth over there. ...Whoops! Too late." 625 started to walk off in the direction of the beach.  
  
Susan sighed, and followed them, Stitch in the lead, going so fast that he bumped into numerous objects, people included. One lady spilled a box of cookies and proceeded to scold Stitch, mumbling under her breath that no one has consideration for the cookie deliverers of America nowadays and that anyone who defies the powers of the cookies should be placed in court among fellow cookie lovers and sent to jail, for infringement on the rights of a cookie. Anyway, basically they got to the beach before the purple creature disappeared from view. And once they got there, Stitch pounced upon the creature, tackling it.  
  
"Stitch! Get off of whoever-they-are, now!" Susan demanded. She sighed. "Oh great. My boyfriend is an animalistic, maniacal lunatic."  
  
"And you just figured that out, eh?" 625 remarked.  
  
"Nevermind! We have to find out if this creature is really---" Susan went over to the fallen creature, and when she saw it's face, she gasped, "--- Kasey! It IS her!"  
  
"Are you sure?" 625 went over to Kasey and looked at her face. "Yep, it's her, all right. She appears to be asleep." He looked around. "So---where are the kidnappers?"  
  
"Don't you get it, you moron?!" Susan snapped. "I can't believe she could actually fall in love with someone like you... but anyway, to clear things up for ya, there WERE NO KIDNAPPERS! She was sleepwalking. Like I said. Remember? You said it was ridiculous?"  
  
"Oh... yeah. I vaguely remember now." 625 recalled. "So... should we wake her?"  
  
"Are you kidding? You're never, EVER supposed to wake a sleepwalker." Susan told 625.  
  
"Why? What will happen?"  
  
Susan thought for a moment. "I... I don't know! Just something, okay?"  
  
"Well, she's not walking now. So, technically, it isn't sleepwalking, right?" 625 pointed out. "Wake her!"  
  
"I don't think we'll have to bother. She's beginning to wake up as we speak." Susan pointed to Kasey, who was beginning to stir in her sleep. Then she groaned, and slowly opened her eyes.  
  
She blinked. "Where am I? It feels like I'm lying on sand..."  
  
"That would be because you are." 625 pointed to the ground.  
  
Kasey stared at the sand around her. "How... in the world... did I get here?"  
  
"You were kidnapped." 625 said calmly. Kasey raised an eyebrow, and Susan sent 625 a Look. "Okay, okay! You sleepwalked."  
  
"Sleepwalked? Again?" Kasey sighed. "This could be bad. What if I do something irreversible while sleepwalking?"  
  
"Like walk off of that cliff you almost fell off of one time but were saved by the heroic act of moi?" 625 said proudly.  
  
"625!" Kasey and Susan said in unison.  
  
"What?!"  
  
Susan shook her head. "Well, usually, sleepwalkers have a REASON for their sleepwalking habit. Do you eat spicy foods before going to bed? Is something worrying or bothering you?"  
  
Kasey looked thoughtful. "I... don't think so..."  
  
"Well! There has to be a reason! It's just hidden in your subconscious." Susan told Kasey.  
  
"I hope my subconscious knows that." Kasey joked.  
  
"This is no kidding matter! 625, you have to make sure that Kasey doesn't sleepwalk tonight." Susan declared.  
  
"What do you want me to do, boil some water?" 625 asked sarcastically.  
  
"That's for pregnant women, you dolt! Not sleepwalkers." Susan rolled her eyes. "But you made a good point. You can't do anything to stop her, can you? You'll probably be sleeping the night away. That's it! It's up to me now. I'm going to sleep over at your place and make sure Kasey doesn't sleepwalk."  
  
"To do that, you'd have to stay up all night, wouldn't you? You'd probably fall to sleep." Kasey told Susan.  
  
"I'll drink some coffee." Susan said simply.  
  
"Coffee?!" Stitch exclaimed.  
  
"Okay, Stitch. We'll get some coffee." Susan looked to Kasey and 625. "After all, this is supposed to be OUR date. And yet again, these two jinxes seem to mess it up somehow." Then she walked off with Stitch.  
  
When it was time for bed, Kasey was yet again going to sleep on the couch, but this time Susan was going to sleep on the floor. 625 was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll just leave you ladies to your girl talk. I'm feeling well enough to take the long, grueling trek down the hall now." 625 announced.  
  
"That's nice." both girls said simply.  
  
625 walked down the hall, grumbling about how no one has any sympathy anymore. Susan and Kasey laughed a little.  
  
"You two certainly have a very... interesting relationship." Susan laughed.  
  
"And what about your coffee date with Stitch? Go well?" Kasey questioned.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." Susan shook her head, but then she smiled. "Oh, but he gave me a little peck on the cheek when it was over."  
  
"You should try kissing someone with an overbite." Kasey snorted, remembering her and 625's less-than-glamorous first kiss.  
  
"Oh, please. I don't ever want to imagine what it would be like to kiss a jerk like him. How do you put up with it?" Susan asked.  
  
Kasey looked embarrassed. "Well, don't EVER tell anybody this, especially him, but... I enjoy kissing him because he's just so adorable..."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Susan yawned. "Hey, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, okay? And don't sleepwalk!"  
  
"I'll try not to..." Kasey sighed. And those were the last words they said before dropping off into slumber.  
  
A loud, thunderous crash was heard. Then real thunder, as the peaceful sounds of pelting rain were heard. Not long after came the noise of an ambulance. And Susan had heard it all. She had woken up 625, and they were both in the living room. Kasey was missing.  
  
"625, I... fear that Kasey sleepwalked again." Susan looked dreadfully worried.  
  
"You mean... you fell asleep?!" 625 exclaimed. "How could you?!"  
  
"It's a perfectly normal bodily function!" Susan shot back. "And, what really concerns me, is... I heard a crash, followed by the sound of an ambulance. What if Kasey had something to do with that crash?! She could be hurt!"  
  
Now 625 began to look concerned as well. He started to head for the ship's exit. "We'll just have to find out, then!"  
  
"Wait, 625! You don't know what you'll see out there." Despite this comment, Susan followed him out into the rain.  
  
Although it was rainy, the air was muggy. As if forecasting a horrible time ahead of them. They stood there for a moment, getting drenched, then they headed for the ambulance's flashing lights in the distance. What they would find there, was unclear to them.  
  
When they got there, they witnessed a horrible sight: a smashed, terribly beat-up car, and paramedics lifting people upon stretchers into the ambulance. But there was no sign of Kasey, yet. At least, it didn't SEEM like she had been involved in the crash...  
  
Then the two overheard what a guy was saying to one of the paramedics. "There was this... creature in the middle of the road. I don't know what it was. It was purple, though. Sounds crazy, but it was!"  
  
"Kasey?" 625 asked, to no one in particular.  
  
Susan was busy peering at something behind a bush. She looked close to tears. "625, I don't know if I should show you this..."  
  
"What? Did you find..." 625 came over to the bush and looked behind it. "...Kasey..."  
  
Limply, Kasey was lying behind the bush, looking scarred and bruised, bleeding a little bit in some places. 625 lifted her body up, which was also dense from the rain. 625 looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out.  
  
"I know." Susan nodded. "I know."  
  
"Why?" 625 managed to say. Then he heard the screeching noise of tires against the road, and looked. The ambulance was taking off! "Hey, wait... what about... her?" 625 looked to Kasey, looking like he couldn't bear to say her name.  
  
"They probably couldn't find her, 625." Susan guessed. "Or... they just didn't care." Rainwater dripped from the tip of Susan's tuft of hair, trickling onto the ground idly. She blinked, moisture forming at her eyes that was hard to tell if it was tears or just simply rainwater.  
  
"She's breathing." 625 reported, his ear to Kasey's chest. "Her heart sounds okay, too. She's just scarred up. I think she'll be fine."  
  
"Still... I would feel better if she received medical attention. That's my two cents." Susan said softly. "She could have internal injuries. You don't know."  
  
"Don't you think this is hard enough for me as it is?!" 625 exclaimed. "I could lose the one I... ever truly cared about. The one that ever truly cared about me. Do you know how hard it is for me to say that?!"  
  
"I don't see why." Susan grumbled. She sighed. "We have to do something quickly. She has to receive medical help."  
  
"Oh, and I'm sure there's a lot of doctors on Earth that specialize in the care of illegal genetic mutations." 625 said sarcastically.  
  
"I wish Jade were here. She'd know what to do. She could help Kasey..." Susan frowned. "We need someone that, as you put it, 'specializes in the care of illegal genetic mutations'. And since our creator is dead... what about your's?"  
  
"Jumba?" 625 questioned. "Actually... that's not a bad idea. Maybe he CAN help Kasey. I hope." 625 stroked Kasey's fur, looking sadly down at her. Rain continued to pour, and the three of them were completely drenched by now, although they hardly noticed.  
  
"All right, it's settled, then. Off to my house we go!" Susan stood up. "Think you can carry Kasey, or do I have to?"  
  
"I'll do it. After all, I am her boyfriend, right?" 625 smiled weakly. He lifted Kasey up into his arms.  
  
"Finally, you take some responsibility." Susan smiled. "Now, follow me."  
  
"Yeah, but she's heavy." 625 followed Susan whilst complaining. "What if I drop her?"  
  
"Aren't you supposed to have Stitch's abilities?" Susan questioned. "Shouldn't you have super strength, like him, then?"  
  
"But I haven't been working out."  
  
"Figures. Well, we should be almost there. Just hold on." Susan looked behind her, then noticed that 625 had stopped walking, and was staring down at Kasey again. Noticing the look on his face, she said, "Don't worry. She's going to be okay. All right?"  
  
625 nodded. "...All right..." Then he continued to follow. But every once in a while he would look at Kasey's limp body. With a look of complete sadness that he never thought he was capable of before. First, they were just sick. Then Kasey seemed to develop a minor sleepwalking problem. And now... he was carrying her lifeless form in his arms, on the way to the Pelekai's to get her medical help. It all seemed like a bad dream. A nightmarish, awful dream that he could not seem to wake up from.  
  
THE END  
  
To be continued 


	10. To Never Forget

Chap. 10: To Never Forget  
  
Their pace quickened as it started to pour more heavily. Their toenails clicked against the pavement as they made their way to a house in the distance. Thunder cracked and the lightning briefly lit up their faces. Finally, they made it to the doorstep of their destination.  
  
Susan didn't bother knocking partially because she lived there and partially because she could not afford to wait due to the situation at hand. So she flung open the door, a flash of lightning again lighting up their faces;Susan's, 625's, and lastly, Kasey's, whom 625 was carrying. They rushed into the room, Susan slamming the door behind her. The three were completely soaked, water dripping from their fur and all over the carpet.  
  
"We have to hurry, and find Jumba." Susan was still breathing heavily from all the running they had been doing. She swallowed. "He's probably in his lab. We haven't a moment to lose. We must hurry. She could be getting worse."  
  
625 nodded, breathing heavily as well. He shifted his weight a little. "Right. Let's get going. She's heavier than she was when I first picked her up!"  
  
"That's because you've been carrying her for a while." Susan told 625. She looked as if she were listening for something. "Everything is so silent. Everyone's probably asleep. But I bet Jumba's not. C'mon, this way to the lab."  
  
625 followed Susan as she led the way to the lab. But he looked doubtful. "Are you sure you know where we're going?!"  
  
"Of course!" Susan yelled back. "I see Jumba come this way a lot."  
  
"That doesn't mean it's the way to his lab!" 625 informed Susan. "Maybe the bathroom's this way or something."  
  
Susan stopped in the middle of the hall, looking thoughtful. "That's right... I forgot, Jumba's lab is in his ship, which is outside."  
  
"You FORGOT that?!" 625 exclaimed. "How could you, when we have a dire situation on our hands! This isn't a time to forget! A time to forget is when everyone is healthy! A time to forget isn't now! How could you?!"  
  
"625!! Get a grip!" Susan whispered harshly.  
  
"Get a grip?! My girlfriend is in danger of becoming deceased, AND YOU TELL ME TO GET A GRIP?!"  
  
Susan sighed. "I'm sorry. I lost my head."  
  
"Now we're going to have to waste more time going back..." 625 complained.  
  
Susan had her paw on the doorknob of a door leading outside. "No we won't. I was right, this is the way to the lab, kind-of." She opened the door. "Ta-daa! Lab is this way."  
  
625 rolled his eyes, unimpressed, and followed Susan outside, back into the rainy wind. Then they ran across the damp grass, over to Jumba's ship. When they got to the entrance, they discovered that this wasn't going to be as easy as they thought. The entrance was not open, not inviting them in... instead, it was locked shut by the ship's security system.  
  
"Now what? Even... Kasey couldn't get a lock like that open." 625 cringed when he said his girlfriend's name.  
  
"No, but you can." Susan was smirking.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I know how to unlock it. The DNA of one of Jumba's experiments must be placed to this sensor." Susan gestured to a DNA sensor near the closed entrance. "That's where you come in."  
  
625 backed up. He eyed Susan suspiciously. "What are you going to do to me...?"  
  
"Just this." Susan reached forward and plucked one of 625's hairs from his head.  
  
"Ow!" 625 rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Why'd you do that for?!"  
  
Susan smiled, examining the single golden hair she held between her fingers. "Ah. I've always wanted to do that." She moved toward the sensor. "I did it because this is your DNA sample. Would you rather I take some of your saliva?"  
  
625 shook his head. "On second thought, pulling out my hair is fine. Taking my saliva is disgusting!"  
  
"For you or for me?" Susan held up the hair to the sensor, and a small laserlike light went through it. Then the entrance automatically opened.  
  
"DNA confirmed. Experiment 625. You may go in." Said a computerized voice.  
  
"Bingo!" Susan winked. "I've never been more grateful for your company, 625. Well, actually, I've never been grateful for your company... but I am now! Good thing you're one of Jumba's experiments!"  
  
"Let's just get going! There's no time to lose!" 625 ran into the ship with Kasey in hand, and Susan quickly followed after him.  
  
"Wow. This place is awesome." Susan marveled.  
  
"I thought you've been here before?"  
  
"I said I knew how to get in." Susan explained. "I didn't say I've ever been in here."  
  
"So where do you think he is?" 625 asked.  
  
"Um..." Susan thought aloud. "Jumba?!" Susan looked to 625. "What're you waiting for?! Help me call him!"  
  
"Call him? You want me to---" When Susan gave him a threatening look, he backed off. "Fine. Jumba, are you here?! JUMBA?!"  
  
"Jumba! Jumba!" They called in unison. But no answer came. Finally, Susan ran off, 625 barely keeping up with her. They came to an abrupt stop when they ran into another security-locked door.  
  
"Great. Another one. How are we ever going to get Kasey help in time?!" Susan tapped her foot impatiently and shook her head, restless.  
  
"This is all your fault, you know!"  
  
"Me?! Well, I never---!"  
  
At that moment, the entrance quickly opened, the two conscious experiments looking a little startled at this happening all of a sudden. But grateful looks soon replaced their startled expressions as they discovered why it had unlocked and opened.  
  
"Jumba!" Susan seemed to be trying to keep herself from doing a victory dance. "We thought we would never find you... you have to help Kasey. It may be serious."  
  
Jumba made his way over to 625 and lifted Kasey's limp body out of his arms. "Oh... what's wrong with inferior experiment?"  
  
"We're hoping you can tell us." Susan replied. "Since you're an expert on illegal creations and such."  
  
Jumba chuckled. "That I be. But how did this happen? Poor creature is barely breathing."  
  
"She was sleepwalking and she got hit by a car." Susan explained. "It got her good;she's scarred up pretty badly."  
  
Jumba seemed slightly amused by the cause of Kasey's injuries. "Yes. If was one of my creations, she would not even come out of car crash with scar."  
  
"Yeah, any one of your creations save 625." Susan pointed out.  
  
"True." Jumba agreed.  
  
625, who had been unusually silent up until now, now looked slightly, or more than slightly, annoyed. "Stop wasting time! You have to help my girlfriend, Jumba! That's why we brought her here!"  
  
Jumba looked surprised by 625's words. "My experiment 625 has girlfriend?... And, since when did you call me Jumba?"  
  
"Sorry, Doc." 625 corrected himself. "But you just... have to do something for her, okay? This is a life or death situation!"  
  
"Well, well, well. I never thought I'd see day when Experiment 625 cared about someone other than himself. Fine, if it means that much, I will see what I can do." Jumba brought Kasey into his lab and laid her upon an examining table. 625 and Susan came closer, watching with curiousity.  
  
Jumba pressed some buttons at a computer, and a beam of light quickly scanned Kasey's body. Jumba seemed to be watching the computer monitor thoughtfully. Susan and 625 came over to it as well, but neither of them could interpret what was on the screen.  
  
"What does that all mean?" Susan wanted to know, speaking for 625 as well.  
  
"She must have had horrible collision with car..." Jumba mumbled, barely speaking audibly. "She is bleeding internally..." When Susan and 625 gasped, Jumba added, "but not heavily."  
  
625 looked torn. "You mean... Kasey...?"  
  
"625, don't get carried away." Susan advised, although she looked just as concerned. "He said she's not bleeding heavily. You can help her, can't you, Dr. Jumba?"  
  
Jumba looked into the two worried, hopeful faces of the two creatures looking up at him. He sighed. "I suppose I can... I've created creatures, so why not repair them? Of course, she was designed very poorly. Easily prone to injury, her body is like a regular Earth creature's. But I will give it best shot."  
  
"Jade probably designed her that way on purpose, since she loved Earth so much... I guess she never imagined this happening." Susan sighed. "So, how are you going to go about helping her?"  
  
Jumba continued to examine the computer monitor. "She is getting worse. If we do not act quickly..." Jumba stopped himself from finishing his sentence when he saw the looks on 625 and Susan's faces. But just by that silence, they got the message.  
  
"You have to tell us there is something you can do, Doc. There MUST be something you can do!" 625 exclaimed.  
  
"Well, there is one chance. I could give her a sort of upgrade..." Jumba looked to the experiments as if requesting their permission.  
  
"Well, I don't think it would be honoring Jade's memory if you tampered with her creation." Susan pointed out.  
  
"It will only be small upgrade. She will still have her inferior DNA, but she will be more well protected from things like this. Her injuries will be healed in this process. What you say?" Jumba offered.  
  
Susan cringed somewhat. "Well, if it's the only way to save her, then..."  
  
"Doc, waitaminute!" 625 exclaimed. "Shouldn't you get her consent as well? After all, it IS her body."  
  
"625, she's unconscious. We can't ask her for permission! Duh!" Susan rolled her eyes. "But if we could, I can assure you she'd give us her consent. I know for a fact she wants to live... for a certain reason." Susan smirked at 625.  
  
625 seemed to be silent with embarrassment as he didn't say anything in return as he usually would. But Jumba had an "I-know-something-you-don't-know" look.  
  
"Actually..." Jumba began, "there is a serum I have made that if injected into her it will make her conscious. But it is very risky. And works only for short time. And she shall be in terrible pain if you force her conscious."  
  
"Why is it that when you think something is a good thing there happens to be many bad side effects that it's not worth it any more?" 625 wondered aloud. Susan and Jumba both stared at him.  
  
"So I take it it's a no on serum? I should go ahead with upgrade?" Jumba looked somewhat excited.  
  
"All right, but don't turn her into a mutant or something. I like her fine as she is." 625 told Jumba.  
  
"That's sweet, 625, very unlike you. But she is already mutant." Jumba reminded his creation. "Now, I need space for work."  
  
Susan practically had to drag 625 away from Kasey, but his eyes never left her until the security door locked once more as they stepped outside. They both looked speechless. It wasn't a situation when feelings could be put into words.  
  
Finally, Susan broke the silence. "Don't worry, 625. She's going to be okay. If Jumba can't do it, no one can." Susan knew she practically read 625's mind, for he shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"What do you think we should do in the meantime?" 625 asked unenthusiastically, not looking up from the floor.  
  
"I don't know, just wait I guess..." Susan replied, not looking up from the floor either.  
  
625 didn't bother pointing out that that's what they were already doing as he would do in practically any other situation. So they waited, and waited, and waited...  
  
When the security door finally flew open, Susan and 625 had practically fallen asleep on the floor. But when they saw Jumba they immediately sprang up. Please, let it be good news, they thought with their fingers crossed.  
  
"She's conscious." Jumba reported.  
  
Susan and 625 began to look slightly happier.  
  
"You mean," 625 asked hopefully, "she's going to be all right?"  
  
"Yes. Operation was success. She is conscious, but still very weak. You may go in to see her, if you want." Jumba looked to 625. "Although, she is acting very peculiar. She keeps saying your name over and over."  
  
"What name?" Susan mumbled under her breath.  
  
They all went in and over to Kasey. She was still on the examining table but now had her injuries bandaged and was moving back and forth with her eyes closed, chanting "625... 625... 625..."  
  
When the two experiments looked up at Jumba questioningly, he said, "Don't look at me! Computer claims her conscious. It may be some kind of brain injury. 625, you may be able to snap her out of it. After all, your name she's calling."  
  
625 looked at Jumba then at Susan, then finally at Kasey. He looked somewhat scared. "What can I do?!"  
  
But the only reply that he got was Jumba and Susan shooing him to go on. So, reluctantly he stepped over to Kasey's side. Then he looked back to Susan and Jumba.  
  
Susan looked annoyed. "Say something to her, already! Your voice may be enough to snap her out of it."  
  
625 leaned over to Kasey, who was still tossing and turning. "Kasey, K-Kasey...? Are you in there?"  
  
Kasey instantly stopped turning. She groaned softly. "625? Is that you?"  
  
"As far as I know." 625 replied. "You awake?"  
  
"As far as I know." Kasey repeated 625's words, and opened her eyes, looking up at him. She shivered a little. "I feel so weak and exhausted, and sore... what happened?"  
  
Susan came closer, looking at Kasey with pitying compassion. "You sleepwalked again. And while you did, you... got hit by a car. Jumba was the one that saved you. He gave you an operation and a bit of an upgrade so something like this won't happen again. You'll be fine, you just need rest."  
  
Kasey looked perplexed. "Who... who are you? And who is Jumba? Who are these people, 625?" Kasey clung to 625 as if he were her only hope to live. 625 cringed as Kasey's claws dug into his flesh.  
  
"Aha! She does have brain injury." Jumba seemed proud that his theory had been correct.  
  
"Partial amnesia?" Susan guessed. "How come she can't remember us, but she can remember 625?"  
  
625 might've said something sarcastic to answer Susan's question, but he was too busy being sliced into by Kasey's claws. Instead, Susan got her reply from Jumba. "Well, these things happen sometimes. Car crash must've given her temporary brain injury. She only remembers one thing that was locked in her mind. And that was 625."  
  
"625?" Susan questioned. "I know she's in love with him, but... why can't she remember me?! She has known me longer than she has known 625. We're experiments of the same creator. We used to sleep in bunk beds. Why can't she remember me, too?! I'm her best friend!" Susan looked somewhat hurt.  
  
Kasey looked frightened, being in a room with people she didn't remember, save 625. "Can we go home? 625, take me home!" She ground her claws deeper into 625's flesh, and 625 gave a gasp of pain.  
  
"If she gets plenty of rest and is not disturbed, I am sure she will get full memory back." Jumba advised.  
  
"I hope so. Because it'll be kinda' hard to be friends with someone who doesn't even know who you are." Susan complained. "So, what do you think we should do to make her feel comfortable and relaxed?"  
  
"Do what she asks. She wants to go home, so she should be taken back to Gantu's ship." Jumba replied. "And she wants 625 personally to take her there. So, do it."  
  
625 tried to pry away Kasey's claws. Finally, she stopped clinging onto him and looked angry now instead of frightened like before.  
  
"Take me home now!" She demanded. "I don't know who you people are, but you don't want to get on my bad side!"  
  
"Yeah, now she remembers she has a bad side, but she STILL doesn't remember me!" Susan whined.  
  
"Susan, everyone has a bad side." Kasey pointed out.  
  
Susan's eyes brightened. "You remember---!"  
  
"That your name is Susan... isn't it? Or is it Sarah?" Kasey looked unsure.  
  
Susan sighed and hung her head. "Oh, it's hopeless."  
  
"Well, look on bright side. She could've exploded." Jumba pointed out.  
  
Susan and 625 looked at Jumba, mouths agape. "She could've what?!"  
  
"Exploded!" Jumba repeated. "You know... KABOOM?"  
  
"You mean... by letting you go through with this ridiculous operation, we were risking Kasey exploding?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Susan exclaimed. 625 looked completely speechless. For once.  
  
"Well, she didn't, did she?! Operation was success! No kaboom." Jumba reminded them.  
  
Susan sighed. "Well, 625, I suppose we should take her home."  
  
"What do you mean 'we'? She only wants me to take her home, remember?" 625 looked somewhat proud by this fact.  
  
"I don't care! I'm going with you. Just in case you need help taking care of her, and you probably will, since even though she's your girlfriend you probably wouldn't want to even lift a finger for her, except when she's in danger, huh?" Susan put her paws on her hips.  
  
"Not true! You make me sound like some lazy jerk."  
  
"Well, if the shoe fits..."  
  
"I don't wear shoes!"  
  
"You guys... SHUT UP AND TAKE ME HOME NOW!" Kasey shouted, panting.  
  
Now it was Susan and 625's turns to look frightened, somewhat intimidated by Kasey's outburst. 625 nodded. "Okay... we'll both take you home." He looked to Susan. "Come on, Chocolate Hair!"  
  
"Chocolate Hair?! And what does THAT crack mean?!" Susan exclaimed as she followed 625 and Kasey out of Jumba's ship.  
  
The trio were now all back in Gantu's ship, Kasey once more on the couch, except now she was sitting up with blankets around her and a tray in front of her with a ham and cheese sandwich and a glass of orange juice on it, courtesy of 625. Susan was on the floor in front of her, looking up at her eagerly while Kasey seemed uncomfortable by this. 625 was sitting in a corner, eating another ham and cheese sandwich.  
  
"Come on! You HAVE to remember me! Don't you remember the time Jade's ship spun out of control, and it was so much like a roller coaster ride that we had fun, except for you because you got so dizzy that you happened to barf on my bed, which I got really angry about later? But then we all had a good laugh afterwards. Don't you remember that? Huh?" Susan pleaded.  
  
Kasey blinked. "No, but... can you please stop pressuring me?! You're making me feel uncomfortable."  
  
"Yeah, leave the girl alone. It's bad enough she has to look at your face all day." 625 remarked.  
  
"You stay out of this! This is probably all your fault, anyway!" Susan shot back.  
  
"My fault?! What did I do?!"  
  
"You're probably the reason why Kasey started sleepwalking again in the first place!"  
  
"Oh, you're so pathetic!"  
  
"You guys! Stop it!" Kasey demanded. "You're both making me uncomfortable. I'm supposed to be relaxed if I'm expected to remember anything."  
  
Susan sighed. "She's right. I probably shouldn't even be here."  
  
"That's what I've been saying ever since we got here! But does anyone ever listen to 625, oh nooo! Who cares what he thinks, right?!" 625 complained.  
  
Susan looked hurt. She stood up. "Okay, okay... I'll leave now, I guess. You two have fun."  
  
But Kasey held out her paw in a "stop" gesture. "No. You stay. Maybe I will remember something. You DO seem familiar."  
  
Susan smiled. "Really? You mean it?" Kasey nodded. "Thanks! I'll stay, then." She sat back down. She looked triumphantly at 625. "Ha! In your face, Sandwich Boy!"  
  
625 muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and finished his sandwich. Then Kasey finally took a bite out of her's, looking as if things couldn't be better. She swallowed, then noticed she was being stared at. "What?"   
  
"It's just that... when you got hit by that car, we thought we lost you. It seems like a miracle that you're sitting in front of us right now, eating a sandwich like it's just another day. You may not have your full memory, but we're just thankful you're alive." Susan explained. 625 didn't say anything, but you could tell he felt the same way.  
  
Kasey began to nitpick her sandwich, breaking off pieces here and there and then leaving them idle. She sighed. "I'm really not in the hungry mood." She blinked, playing with her claws. "I feel lost. So lost and alone. Can't anyone help me? Can I even help myself..." She closed her eyes. "I need to be by myself for awhile." She looked at Susan and 625, urging them with her eyes to let her be for awhile.  
  
Susan got up. "Okay, okay... we'll both go in the galley for a bit, and let Kasey have her alone time." She nodded, and headed for the galley.  
  
625 edged towards Kasey, and her eyes followed him suspiciously as he did this. This seemed to somehow intimidate him, for he quickened his pace and grabbed the sandwich pieces on Kasey's tray. "As long as you're not in the hungry mood, I'll take this, because I am."  
  
Susan smiled, then shrugged. "Yeah, we know." She watched 625 as he walked more quickly to the galley, and she headed after him. She seemed to be amused. "Ha, you're afraid of your own girlfriend..."  
  
Kasey sighed once more. She knew nothing... nothing at all anymore, except one thing. The only thing that she could remember was her boyfriend, it seemed. But why nothing else? Why was everything so dark, how come everyone could see the light but her? Why did this tragedy have to be her fate... why couldn't the light of knowledge and understanding reveal itself to her...?  
  
She yawned, feeling rather tired. Well, she figured sleep couldn't hurt. She laid down, and in a matter of moments was sound asleep. Everything went black as slumber captured her, holding her in it's grasp as her unaware mind gave itself over freely, not knowing what would be waiting for her in the unconscious state...  
  
...Tires screeched. Headlights veered closer, and closer... picking up speed, then turning abruptly, but not in time. There was a horrible collision, and screams pierced the cold darkness. Everything was mostly blurry after that, but then muffled voices began to call... worried, scared voices. A siren was heard, but only for a while... then those voices seemed to be discussing something urgently... the air was stale yet damp, and you could almost feel the melancholy hanging in it like a thick fog...  
  
...Those images seemed to repeat theirselves over and over in Kasey's unconscious mind. She tossed and turned, reliving that horrible moment in her life, the moment when she almost had to hand over her life and everything that came with it. Finally, her eyes snapped open and she sat up, breathing heavily.  
  
She tried to call somebody, but her voice didn't seem to want to work for her. It came out in unintelligible murmurs, as her body was shaking from the nightmare. Finally, after seconds of trying, she was finally able to form words again. "Susan, 625...! Where... where is everybody? Please, someone... someone... anyone... come here!" She lay back down. "Please..."  
  
She heard footsteps in the hall, and barely had the strength to turn her head to see a very sleepy-looking 625 leaning against the wall. She couldn't help but smile a little. 625 smiled in return somewhat. "Well, Susie-Q went home earlier, so you're stuck with me. What you want?"  
  
"I had a dream..."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Kasey nodded, sitting up once more as 625 joined her on the couch. "Well, more like a nightmare. It was awful..."  
  
"Well, it was just a dream. It can't come true." 625 pointed out.  
  
This seemed to make Kasey feel worse rather than better. "No, but it DID come true! My dream was about the car crash. I remember it. I remember..."  
  
"Do you remember everything now?"  
  
"I do..." Kasey replied, but she didn't look too happy as might've been expected of her. "I can remember everything, now. The nightmare seemed to jog my memory, as awful as it was, but I've been doing a lot of thinking."  
  
"You always do a lot of that." 625 stated. "I've always thought that you think too much. Why DO you have so much on your mind, anyway?"  
  
"The real question is, how can I not?" Kasey replied. "There's always a lot to think about... life, mysteries, the universe, people, us, and why medicine can never taste good, even when the commercial people SAY it's going to taste good, but it never does..."  
  
625 held his head. "All of this philosopher's mumbo-jumbo is giving me a headache..."  
  
Kasey didn't seem to notice his complaint. Instead, she was looking upwards, as if the ceiling held her focus. But, she did not comprehend that she was staring at the ceiling. She was thinking, as usual. "You know... there's something I've been meaning to ask you, 625."  
  
"All right. Go ahead."  
  
Kasey now looked down at the floor. She sighed. "What... how do you... how do you feel, being an experiment? How do you feel, knowing that you were just a scientific experiment and nothing else, that you have no parents... that nature never really meant for you to be..."  
  
"Wait, hold on, time out!" 625 did a "time out" gesture. "Is this a question to me, or to yourself?"  
  
Kasey didn't even really have to think about that one. "Maybe it is sorta' to myself... but still, how do you feel about it?" Kasey looked at 625 as if his answer meant more to her than anything else in the world.  
  
"All right, I guess. What's the big deal?"  
  
Kasey rocked her head slightly back and forth. "It's a very big deal. Don't you ever feel... different from everyone else? Don't you ever feel jealous of those that... were born naturally?"  
  
"Correct me if I'm wrong... but isn't everyone supposed to be different?" 625 questioned.  
  
"Well, yeah." Kasey agreed. "But some people seem to be more different than others. And me, I feel really different." She stared at her paws, having a look of reminiscence on her face, obviously recalling a memory. "The first thing I remember... is when I first came into the world. When I first opened my eyes... I didn't know anything. Who was I? Where was I? Where had I come from? Who were those faces looking at me eagerly, then happily as they realized I was awake for the very first time? I felt so lost, helpless, and confused. And having temporary partial amnesia made me relive those feelings." She frowned, looking like she was in great sadness. "I often wonder why I am here. Everyone that was brought here by nature has a purpose, but what about us? What about creatures that were created not by nature, but by science? Are we really meant to be here...?"  
  
"Well, look at it this way..." 625 began, "maybe our creators were brought here by nature in order to create us. Maybe that was their purpose, to make us, and if so, maybe nature really did have a part in our creation."  
  
"That's a nice way to look at it." Kasey smiled. She yawned, and leaned back against the couch. "In a way, now, I am sort of glad that this car crash happened. It made me think about things I haven't thought of in a long while."  
  
When Kasey didn't get an answer, she looked over at 625, and she discovered that he had fallen asleep. She wasn't the least bit offended, in fact, she smiled. Suddenly, she didn't feel so sad or alone anymore. She felt strangely happy, like she wanted to laugh out loud, as she chuckled a bit. She knew... no matter how sad she would ever get, she would be happy again sooner or later, even for just a brief moment. And she wasn't alone. She would never be alone. She had her best friend, Susan, and her boyfriend, 625, who didn't cease to amuse her. And they were both experiments, too, so they should know how she felt. Her eyelids drooped as all of this heavy thinking made her tired.  
  
A sharp sound in Kasey's ear made her wake back up. She looked to her side and noticed that 625 was snoring right into her ear. She shook her head and pushed him to the other side of the couch, and he fell onto his back by the sudden force.  
  
"Huh?! What?! What happened---?!" 625 exclaimed as he woke up.  
  
"You fell asleep and then started snoring." Kasey explained. "Well, if you want to sleep out here on the couch, then go ahead. I'm going back to my room, even if it is a storage room." Kasey got up from the couch and headed into the hall.  
  
"Good night, then." 625 didn't seem to want to leave the couch, as he shifted comfortably. He closed his eyes and unenthusiastically urged Kasey to go on with his paw.  
  
"Okay, okay." Kasey looked as if she was trying to keep from laughing. "See you in the morning... or whenever I'll wake up." With that, she walked out of the room, and that night you can be sure they both rested peacefully.  
  
THE END  
  
To be continued   
  
Well, that's it for now. Four new chapters should tide you over. And if you're one of those people that doesn't like my stories... then why were you reading the four new chapters for?! x.x; That is one thing about people I don't understand. (I guess they just like to torture people---like me! But I'm lovable. XD) Anyway, I'll be back probably in three months if you're lucky. Or unlucky, depending on if my return is good for you or not. Ha. Believe me, you don't want to be in any rush to read chapter eleven---it's the worst chapter out of all of them. But, oh well. 


	11. Homeless and Heartbroken

All right... I can't believe that I'm still posting my stuff here, especially this chapter, but here it is anyway. I consider it the worst chapter of this series, so you have been forewarned. But pretty much of the later chapters are fairly good I think, and to get to those I have to post chapter eleven, no matter how awful it is so... here it is. Read it and refrain from flaming me for any reason whatsoever. Thanks. (Maybe I'm just paranoid. . .)

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Chap. 11: Homeless and Heartbroken

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It was the late afternoon, the sun bright and heavy against the Earth below. It was pretty much a lazy day, and there was mostly silence in the air except the sound of a lawnmower. And lazing about was just what a couple of experimental organisms were doing at this particular moment. In Gantu's spaceship, these two experiments, and you should know the ones I speak of, were watching television while having a debate... an argumental debate.  
  
"They're going to use cheese!" Kasey exclaimed. "I just know it!"  
  
"You've been saying that all day! They're going to use lettuce! You're such an amateur at this. You think EVERYTHING has to have cheese," 625 shot back.  
  
"But cheese is good!" Kasey insisted. "Besides, I haven't been saying it all day. I haven't been awake all day."  
  
"What're you two imbeciles doing? Watching the Sandwich Channel again?" Gantu exclaimed as he came into the room.  
  
"It was all his idea," Kasey pointed a claw at 625. "I wanted to read."  
  
"Well, why didn't you go and read, then? I didn't invite you! I never do invite you... you just always seem to be there. Why are you always following me?!" 625 complained.  
  
"I don't. I'm just coincidentally always in the same room as you." Kasey said innocently.  
  
"Oh come on. Coincidences can't happen THAT often!"  
  
"Or maybe it's YOU who's following ME," Kasey pointed out. "Ever think of that?"  
  
"Why would I want to do that for...?" 625 mumbled under his breath.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"Oh, I think it was something!"  
  
"Will you quit bothering me!"  
  
"I will if---"  
  
Gantu seemed to be amused by this. "Well, I see the perfect couple is having their first fight. How sweet."  
  
"Well, it's HER fault! SHE'S the one who thought they were going to put cheese on the sandwich next!" 625 explained.  
  
Gantu looked slightly perplexed. He looked at Kasey in an almost-pitying way. "I really do pity you if you ever actually marry this guy."  
  
"I don't need your pity, Gantu," Kasey said independently. She laughed. "Unless we had children or something. Now THAT is scary to think about."  
  
"Please. I can barely put up with the two of you. The last thing I would need is if you two married and started a family... in my ship!" Gantu said it angrily as if they both had just announced their engagement. "I hope you break up before you ever start thinking marriage."  
  
Kasey waved it off. "Aw, don't worry about that. It's not like we could get anyone on Earth that would agree to marrying creatures like us, anyway."  
  
"Hey, Kasey, wanna' marry me?" 625 teased.  
  
"'K!" Kasey replied, and the two returned their gazes to the television screen.  
  
"That's not funny!" Gantu exclaimed.  
  
"So what do you say, we get married, have about a dozen children, leave 'em with Gantu, and retire to Florida?" 625 joked, smiling teasingly at Kasey.  
  
Kasey seemed amused. "It's a date!"  
  
Gantu didn't look happy. "That's it, I've had enough of the both of you playing your mind games with me!"  
  
"What're you going to do, kick us out?" 625 asked.  
  
"Actually..." Gantu looked thoughtful. "That's not a bad idea. You two are of no help at all whatsoever to me. All you do is drive me nuts all day! I want you gone... and for real this time!"  
  
"You can't do that!" Kasey exclaimed. "We help sometimes..."  
  
"Not enough for it to be worth it," Gantu grumbled. "I only need one sidekick, anyway. I'll make a deal with you... one of you can stay if the other leaves. So, who will it be?"  
  
"But that's not fair!" Kasey whined. "You can't be serious! What about all we've been through?"  
  
"Yeah, it was just a joke! Good grief, don't take it seriously!" 625 exclaimed.  
  
"If you won't decide who it will be," Gantu began, "then I will. I pick..." He glanced at the both of them back and forth, then his gaze fell upon Kasey. "You! 625 was originally my sidekick... and you're just... here." Kasey blinked, then Gantu continued. "625 makes sandwiches for me... but you... you are of absolutely no use to me at all! I want you gone..."  
  
Kasey looked frightened. "But... b-but... I'd be homeless!"  
  
"What about the little girl's house? Susan lives there, so I suppose they will allow the likes of you to stay, too," Gantu offered.  
  
"I don't think so! Those people don't even like me visiting. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I live with their worst enemy," Kasey told Gantu.  
  
"Not anymore you don't. If they won't let you stay, then I don't know what to tell you. But you're not staying here. Out, now." Gantu pointed towards the exit.  
  
Kasey looked uncomfortable. She blinked several times, looking completely speechless. Finally, she got down on her feet, sadly looking back at 625. He frowned as she headed to the exit.  
  
625 looked as if he was considering something, then got down on his feet as well. "No, wait." Kasey turned to look at him. Then he looked at Gantu. "If she goes... then so do I."  
  
Both Gantu and Kasey looked astonished at 625's surprising act of unusual courage. Kasey was the first to respond. She stepped forward.  
  
"You know... you really don't have to do this..."  
  
"I know." 625 looked as if he was considering backing out, but he held firm. "But I'm going to... if I have to." He sighed.  
  
"Fine! Both of you leave! I don't need you! See if I care!" Gantu turned away.  
  
"Well, we don't need you, either!" Kasey decided. "C'mon, 625!" She grabbed 625's arm and started to pull him out.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" 625 complained. "Slow down! Where's the fire?"  
  
"I know you're thinking of changing your mind, so I'm trying to get you out of here before you do," Kasey explained. "Now come on!"  
  
"Fine. But I can take myself out." 625 walked to the exit with Kasey. "Seeya, Sharky. It's been fun."  
  
When they left, Gantu snorted. "Ha! I can get along just fine without them. Who needs them, anyway? I can get along by myself..." Gantu looked around at the empty room, "...all by myself..." he sighed, looking somewhat lonely.  
  
Back at the Pelekai house, Susan was on the couch reading a romance book. While she was in the middle of a really great paragraph, she heard the doorbell ring. She sighed. "Can someone get that?" But the only reply she got was the doorbell ringing a couple more times. She rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone have to be out when the doorbell rings and I'm in the middle of something?" She got up, still reading the book, and walked over to the door and opened it. Without looking up from her book, she said, "If you're selling, I'm not buying, if you're offering advice, I'm not listening, and if you need to use our phone, then write a letter. Bye bye." She tried to shut the door but it was opened back up. Then she looked up to see who it was.  
  
"You know, you'll never get a job at the Welcome Wagon," Kasey pointed out as she stepped in with a knapsack slung over her shoulder. 625 came in after her with a backpack.  
  
"Are you guys going on another camping trip?" Susan questioned with an upraised eyebrow, examining their backpacking apparel.  
  
625 shut the door while Kasey answered Susan's question. "I wish it was that simple. But, no. These packs are full of our most important possessions. We've been kicked out. Or, I have at least, but miraculously, 625 didn't want me to go alone. We're homeless... and we're wondering if, maybe..."  
  
Susan backed up, knowing what Kasey was suggesting. "No. Oh, no. You can't stay here. Nani would have a fit! She ALREADY thinks I'm a troublemaker. She'll find some way to twist this around and make it my fault."  
  
Kasey pouted. "But you're our only hope! Come on, Susan. We're family. Pleashe?"  
  
"'Pleashe'?" Susan raised an eyebrow. She shifted her weight. "Ohhh... I do hate it when you look at me like that. Aren't you a little too old for guilt trips?"  
  
"Susan, get a clue!" Kasey exclaimed. "NO ONE is too old for guilt trips."  
  
"Even that lady across the street that looks like she's 250?" 625 asked, glancing across the street from the window.  
  
Kasey shook her head and pulled him away from the window by the ear. "Behave yourself!"  
  
625 rubbed his ear when Kasey let go. "Maybe I would if a certain girlfriend would stop trying to yank off her boyfriend's ear!"  
  
Kasey shook her head again. She looked to Susan once more. "Please, Susan. We have no where else to stay. When Nani gets home, you just HAVE to convince her to let us stay here."  
  
Susan groaned. "Oh, all right. I suppose you'll hound me about it otherwise. You can stay until Nani gets here, but whatever she says is law. It isn't up to me. I hope you know that."  
  
"Since when did a bandit like you care about what's law?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"Quiet, you!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
"Why is everyone always telling me that?"  
  
"Maybe because no one really cares what's on your ridiculous little mind!"  
  
Kasey put a paw in 625's face and a paw in Susan's. "Could you just... you know... sorta'... shut up?!" She sighed. "If we're all going to live in the same house, we're going to need to learn how to get along."  
  
"Key word being 'if'." Susan commented.  
  
"So, until she gets here, what do you want to do?' Kasey asked, mostly out of boredom.  
  
"D'ya have any food in this dump?" 625 asked, looking to the kitchen.  
  
Susan heaved another sigh. "Sure. Go help yourself to whatever you want. Things couldn't get any worse, anyway." After she said this, 625 went off to the kitchen.  
  
Kasey tilted her head curiously. "What's the matter, Susan? I sense that something was already wrong before we came here. You feeling okay?"  
  
"Oh, come over to the couch, and we'll talk about it," Susan sat down on the couch, and Kasey quickly joined her. "You know, it's true what they say, Kasey. All's fair in love and war."  
  
"Aw, what happened?"  
  
"Well, yesterday, last night, actually, Stitch and I were both walking in the park alone. It was a silent, starlit romantic night. And then Stitch and I edged closer to each other..." Susan had a look of pure bliss on her face.  
  
"Sounds like the perfect night to me," Kasey said with a smile.  
  
"That's easy for you to say. You're one of the lucky ones. No one's threatening to snag their claws into your boyfriend. I can see why... but that isn't the issue here... it's me and Stitch. Our future is in danger of ever happening!" Susan explained.  
  
"Let me guess," Kasey said, "Angel?"  
  
"You have hit the bullseye!" Susan nodded. "Stitch saw Angel at the park. And, as you would expect... as soon as he saw her, he forgot all about me. It's like she has some sort of charm on him that I am absolutely incapable of."  
  
"Well... I don't know what to say," Kasey admitted. "If it's meant to be, then it'll work out. If not... well, then, it won't."  
  
Susan rolled her eyes. "Well, YOU'RE a big help. I just wish I didn't have to worry about Angel all of the time."  
  
"Angel..." 625 walked into the room with a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate. He looked completely in bliss when he said Angel's name.  
  
And Kasey noticed. "Excuse me! You said 'Angel' like SHE is the one you're in love with."  
  
625 looked somewhat ashamed. "Well, I... actually, I... at one point in my life, I... DID have a crush on her."  
  
Kasey glared at 625 like a predator about to strike. "You still have feelings for her, DON'T you?! I could hear it in your voice, and I can see it in your eyes. You still have a crush on her. You're crushing on Angel, and you call ME your girlfriend?! Are you just dating me to make her jealous?!"  
  
625 backed up, then bumped into Susan. He turned around and discovered that she looked just as angry. "Well, ANSWER her, 625. After all, she IS your girlfriend. Or is she? Have you been seeing Angel secretly? Have you and Stitch created your own Lovers of Angel Fanclub?!"  
  
"No! No! It's nothing like that. I haven't been seeing Angel secretly!" 625 insisted.  
  
"But you still have feelings for her, don't ya?! Tell me the truth, 'cause I can tell when you're lying." It sounded like Kasey growled under her breath when she said that, but it was hard to tell.  
  
"Well, I..." 625 backed as far away from the girls as possible. "Yes, I... do kind of still have feelings for her... but I can't help it. She's so gorgeous..."  
  
That was DEFINITELY the wrong thing to say. Kasey looked about ready to leap for 625, and it wasn't because she loved him. "Oh, you have made a terrible mistake, Buster! No boyfriend of mine will talk about another girl like that! I simply will not have it!" She edged closer and closer to 625, claws bared, with a vicious look on her face.  
  
Susan jumped in front of Kasey. "Now, wait, wait wait wait. I understand how you feel... but ripping out 625's guts isn't going to help, however satisfying it may be."  
  
"And like you didn't try to do that before?" 625 reminded Susan, looking cautiously at both girls, realizing his mishap.  
  
Susan turned quickly on her heel. "Now you had better shut up! Anything that comes out of your mouth is just going to make her angrier. Didn't I TELL you not to ever give Kasey a reason to be jealous? Well, you have done it now! Kasey may not be a violent creature by nature, but when you get her like this it can make a heckuva lotta' difference!"  
  
625 backed up against the wall. "Okay, okay---I'm sorry! I really am. Don't hurt me! I really am sorry! Please!" He closed his eyes and cringed, preparing for the blow he was sure was coming.  
  
Kasey shook her head. "You're not sorry. You meant every word you said. You're just saying you're sorry because you're a coward! You're afraid I'm going to maul you. Well, I'm not. But I want you to tell me something. Do you love her more than you love me?! It sure sounds like it! Because you've never talked about me like that before. You've never called me gorgeous. Heck, you've never even said I was pretty! By the way you talk about us, people would think Angel's your girlfriend and that I'm just your 'buddy'! Well, maybe I shouldn't even be that."  
  
"Please, I... you're pretty, Kasey, it's just that Angel is... she's more..." 625 looked like he didn't know how to put it.  
  
"Oh, she's more gorgeous, huh? She's more glamorous than I am, right? Compared to her, I'm plain and dull, is that it? Well, I'm sorry that you don't find me attractive! I'm sorry that it was ANGEL you've loved all along, and not me! She's probably why Susan's 'charms' didn't work on you! It wasn't because you were in love with me. It was because you were in love with Angel!"  
  
"But I... I love you both! Isn't that enough?" 625 wanted to know.  
  
"You just don't get it, do you?" Kasey glowered. "YOU CAN'T HAVE US BOTH!"  
  
625 looked like he was going to say something, but Susan put a paw over his mouth. "That's enough from you. Now, I'm going to have a little chat with your girlfriend. That is, if she still is your girlfriend. And then, I'm going to have a little chat with you. Maybe I can straighten this whole ugly mess out. And you'd better hope, for your sake, that I can." Susan nodded to Kasey and led her outside. "I'll be back in a few. And you'd better still be here when we get back." Then she closed the door as she and Kasey stepped outside.  
  
"Susan, what am I going to do?" Kasey asked, her voice sounding more sad now than angry. "I must have bad luck or something... first, I get hit by a car and almost die. Then, I'm kicked out and pronounced homeless. And now, now... my boyfriend... whom I thought was trustworthy, has feelings for someone else! I wish it was all just some crazy nightmare... but I know it's not. Susan, I love him. How could he do this to me?"  
  
"How can any boyfriend hurt their girlfriend? It's in their genes, I guess. Guys can be so predictable." Susan sighed. "Well, Cuz', looks like we've got more in common than we thought. Both of our crushes... have a crush on Angel. What IS it about her, anyway?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess that's something only they know." Kasey moved away, trying her best to hide her face.  
  
"Kasey... are you... crying?"  
  
"No! I'm not. What gave you that idea?!"  
  
"Well," Susan said, "you always try to hide your face when you've been crying."  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Kasey turned to look at Susan, revealing a tear-streaked face. "Okay. So I am. But don't ever tell anyone I cried over this. Because he isn't worth crying over."  
  
"Does this mean," Susan thought aloud, "you're breaking up?"  
  
"What do you THINK it means?!" Kasey snapped. "That I'm just going to have a good cry and forget about it?! That when I've finished I'm just going to wipe my face, go in there and ask him out for french fries and milkshakes later, then give him a kiss as if that will fix everything?! He probably thinks that, but I expected better from you!"  
  
"No, slow down! I don't think that," Susan assured her friend. "But I do think you should work it out. You two have too good of a relationship to just let it go down in flames."  
  
"Yeah, but... how can I date someone who has feelings for someone else? For all I know, he may be thinking of Angel when he kisses me! That's not a stable foundation for a good relationship, and I should just get out of it now before it gets worse." Kasey sniffed. "It just... hurts... so much. I love him, and it aches to think that... it's really over."  
  
"It doesn't have to be. I think you two should talk it over. Work things out for the best. You might feel differently then. I just hate to see you split up. I really think you have something special," Susan advised.  
  
Kasey sniffed some more. "I don't see how. Our whole future is in shambles. If only I wasn't so attracted to him..."  
  
"I know, Kay, I know." Susan then embraced Kasey in a comforting hug. "Whatever happens, I'll be here for you."  
  
"Thanks." Kasey brushed away her tears with her paw. "I guess we should go in now, huh? Before 625 eats you out of house and home." She managed a weak smile when she said this.  
  
"Ah, I saw that smile!" Susan grinned. "You'll be just fine whatever happens, I'm sure. You'll endure whatever comes your way. You usually do."  
  
"Well I hope I can this time." Kasey sighed. "Let's go in."  
  
"Right." Susan opened the door, and they went back into the house. Right when Susan shut the door, 625 looked up at them from the couch. He had just swallowed the last of his sandwich and he looked sullen. For a while, everyone was silent, just staring at each other. Then Susan cleared her voice, and all eyes were on her. "So, 625... I think me and you should talk next, then maybe you and Kasey can deal with this difficult situation." She opened the door again. "Come on. Kasey will be all right by herself for a few minutes."  
  
625 looked reluctant, but he got up and followed Susan outside. Kasey slumped down on the couch when the door closed again, looking deeply depressed. Well, could you blame her?  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Susan was starting off her and 625's talk. She didn't know how to start, so she just plain out said it. "Kasey's really hurt about this whole Angel thing, 625. She doesn't want to lose you."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere!"  
  
"You KNOW what I mean!" Susan held her head. "625, she is going to break up with you if you continue with your fascination for Angel."  
  
"But, I don't get it. What's the big deal? I said that I loved her, too! And I do."  
  
"That's SO typical." Susan rolled her eyes. "Let me give you an example here so I can get through to your brain. Do you remember the time you looked through the window and saw Kasey accidentally kissing Yaarp? You were hurt, weren't you? And how would you feel if Kasey announced she had feelings for Yaarp? How would you feel if she said, 'It's not a big deal because I love you too, 625!'? Even if she still loved you, it would still hurt because she loved someone else as well. You get what I mean? It hurts! You can't have them both. Who do you want? Angel, who is already interested in Stitch, or Kasey, who loves you very much, and who you probably have a future with?"  
  
625 sighed. "I see your point. But she doesn't want to work things out. She's ready to claw my eyes out."  
  
"Don't worry. I talked with her. She's ready to work it out. The only question now is... what do YOU want?" Susan questioned. "You'd better make up your mind. Because she's not going to wait for you forever."  
  
"Well, okay. If you say so, I'll talk to her. I won't like it, but I will." 625 promised.  
  
Susan gave the thumbs-up sign. "Great. Now go in there and do whatever you can to win her back. Beg if you have to. Just show her how you really feel! Don't let your relationship be ruined over Angel, who you'll probably never end up with anyway."  
  
625 looked like he was about ready to complain, but he kept his mouth shut, opened the door and went back in.  
  
Kasey looked up. She swallowed. "Well, how did it go? Is he dumping me for Angel?" Kasey glared at 625.  
  
"No... I wouldn't ever dump you," 625 assured Kasey. He looked as if that was all he was going to say, but then Susan hit him in the ribs. When enough of the pain passed for him to be able to talk again, he said, "Okay, so I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the whole Angel thing, Kasey. I didn't mean it."  
  
"OF COURSE you meant it! You said it!" Kasey exclaimed. "And you're STILL not sorry. You're just apologizing because Susan told you to."  
  
"Kasey, people don't always mean what they say," Susan pointed out.  
  
"Like his apology! It didn't come from the heart. He may love me, but he still loves her. I can't date someone like that." Kasey folded her arms.  
  
"I take it you're still angry at me," 625 guessed.  
  
"No, I just got all worked up for your amusement," Kasey said sarcastically.  
  
625 walked over to Kasey, then, cautiously, he asked, "May I sit down, or will you strangle me for that?" When Kasey nodded, he sat down, then seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Listen... true, I did once have a crush on Angel. And I still find her attractive. But I don't love her. I thought I did... but I don't. You have to believe me when I say... you're the only one I truly love." Then he pulled her close and started to kiss her, and to his surprise, she kissed back! But this wasn't the most perfect timing in the world, as at that second Nani came home. You can imagine her surprise when she opened the door and the first thing she saw was two experiments that didn't even live there on the couch kissing each other.  
  
"What is going on here?!" Nani demanded. She looked to Susan. "And I suppose you have something to do with this. Spill."  
  
"Nani," Susan began, "Kasey and 625 don't have anywhere to stay. They were kicked out. And they had this big fight... and they made up just now. At least, I think they did. Did you?" Susan looked to Kasey and 625, who were now both watching everything that was happening intently.  
  
"That's a good question," 625 thought aloud. He turned to Kasey. "Did we?"  
  
Kasey chuckled. "...Well, I can't deny that I'm not still angry with you. But, no, I'm... I'm not breaking up with you. Otherwise I would've pushed you away instead of kissing you back. BUT, if you ever, ever say anything like that about another girl again, you can bet you won't be as lucky. ...I'm glad things worked out, though..." Kasey smiled and nuzzled his nose affectionately with hers.  
  
"Aw, isn't that sweet? An Eskimo kiss." Susan was trying to keep from laughing.  
  
"Excuse me," Nani began, "but if you expect me to let them stay, you've got another thing coming! I'm not allowing any more aliens under this roof!"  
  
"But you have to. Otherwise, they'll be homeless!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
"I don't know, call The Orphanage For Mooching Aliens." Nani sighed.  
  
"Please, Nani. Just until they find another place to live or until Gantu cracks and begs for them back," Susan pleaded.  
  
Nani sighed again. "Oh, I don't have time to deal with this right now. I have other things to take care of." She held her head. "Okay, fine. I'll give them a week. A week! And if they aren't out by then... then I don't know what to say."  
  
Susan turned to look at 625 and Kasey. "Okay, you two! You heard her. A week. That's all the time you got. No slacking off."  
  
"Us? Slack off?" Kasey pretended to look innocent. "We never slack off."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm running for the next President of the United States." Susan rolled her eyes. (Yes, again.)  
  
"You are? I'm not voting for you." Kasey laughed, and 625 joined her.  
  
"Come on, you guys. Be serious. I swear, you two are the most lazy, slack-off creatures I ever met. I know you, which is why I'm going to be monitoring you both, and make sure you work on getting Gantu to let you move back, or at least find somewhere else to stay, or something!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
"Thank you, Instructor." Kasey grinned. "Don't worry, we'll try our very best."  
  
"Heaven help us." Susan sighed.

  
------------------------------------  
THE END  
  
To be continued

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Horrible, wasn't it? Well, refrain from saying so, because I already know. Anyway, chapter twelve is better.


	12. Pushed Into Darkness

Here's chapter twelve. It's okay I guess, but the title doesn't start making sense until the end. =p I hope that you like it. And if you don't, then I'd rather not hear from you..

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Chap. 12: Pushed Into Darkness  
---------------------------------

  
It was very early in the morning. All was silent except the sound of a gentle morning shower against the window pane. Then, joining it was the soft noise of light footsteps against the floor. The room was almost completely dark but there was a patch of early morning light against the wall, emiting from the window. Then you could slightly make out a shadow in that small patch of light. Then the owner of the shadow came closer, closer to the living room couch.  
  
"Kasey," whispered the shadow's voice, "are you awake? Probably not, huh?"  
  
Kasey turned over on the couch, revealing her face in the slight glow of the fragment of light. Even though she was a heavy sleeper, the whisper seemed to reach her ears and register itself in her brain, although not enough to wake her up. She sighed in her sleep, looking peaceful and carefree like an innocent, naive child. Strange how slumber can make anyone look that way.  
  
"Kasey... Kasey?" the voice said a little louder. Then a pair of hands, or rather, paws, reached out to shake Kasey awake. She groaned quietly at her peaceful sleep being disturbed, and blinked her eyes slightly open into thin brown slits almost hidden by her eyelashes.  
  
Kasey stretched, then completely shut her eyes and licked her lips. "What do you want? I'm tired and cold and don't feel like getting up right now."  
  
"You never do this early in the morning, do you?" the voice replied in a somewhat amused tone. "I can't sleep. And I didn't want to drive myself nuts pacing the floor like you do, so..."  
  
"So you decided to drag me into your insomniac misery, hm?" Kasey finished, her eyes again opening to brown slits. She yawned. "At least turn a light on. It's darker than a dungeon in here." At this, she reached over and flipped on a lamp switch, the sudden light uncovering the shadow's identity: Susan. Kasey then blinked her eyes several times, trying to get them to adjust to the sudden light. When she stopped this routine she had them opened completely. She sat up and stretched again. "Oh, I swear, I don't know HOW often I've been sleeping on couches recently..."  
  
"Hm, this is almost perfect. Except one thing's missing. Where is your boyfriend? I know he's still around here somewhere." Susan quickly glanced around.  
  
Kasey looked around too, then noticed a pile of blankets at the end of the couch that seemed to slightly rise and fall rhythmatically. Kasey made her way on all fours over to the pile of blankets. Then she sniffed it somewhat, making herself look like a curious puppy. "Smells like laundry detergent, and..." Kasey knocked off the blankets with a playful swat of her paw, revealing what was underneath: a sleeping 625. Kasey tried nudging him awake with her paw, and he finally stirred.  
  
Sitting up, he looked at the girls' faces back and forth, then covered himself back up with the blanket. "D'ya mind?! I don't intrude on your personal space!" Huffily, he laid back down and forced his eyes closed.  
  
Kasey sniffed his face. "Did you know you smell like mayonnaise?"  
  
625 opened his eyes, looking annoyed. "See what I mean about intrusions of personal space?! I didn't give you permission to discover what I smell like!"  
  
"Did you get up on the wrong side of the couch this morning, 625?" Susan asked.  
  
"Well how would you like it if Stitch sniffed your face? Would YOU like it?" 625 snapped.  
  
"But Stitch does stuff like that all the time," Susan excused. "I am aware Kasey doesn't, but she just gets curious sometimes. I should've warned you what you were getting yourself into."  
  
"Leave me alone, okay?" 625 pulled the blankets over his head.  
  
Susan put her paws on her hips. "And why are you so darn snappy?! I know some people can be grumpy in the morning... but sheesh! What's your problem?" She looked to Kasey. "You'd better give your boyfriend an attitude adjustment, Kasey."  
  
"Maybe later. I'm still tired. Do you mind leaving us alone and coming back at about noon?" Kasey laid her head down.  
  
Susan snapped her fingers. "I know what you guys need!" She disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared moments later with steaming mugs of coffee.  
  
"Coffee?!" Kasey questioned. "I don't drink coffee."  
  
"Well, maybe it's about time you did," Susan said promptly. She looked over at 625 who had fallen back to sleep. "He's back to sleep again. Shall I pour coffee in his face?"  
  
Kasey gave a look of sheer disapproval. "No. Even you're not that cruel."  
  
"Well, what I think you guys should do is," Susan began, "go back to Gantu's ship and plead with him to let you live there again. You two can't live here forever, you know. Nani only gave you a week. And it couldn't hurt to get started bright and early."  
  
"This changes the subject, doesn't it?" Kasey quirked a brow, but all the while wearing the smirk smile she was infamous for.  
  
Susan shook her head, smiling. "Have some coffee, Cuz'!" Susan offered Kasey a mug.  
  
Kasey stared inside the mug Susan held out, watching the cream swirl around in the strong-smelling brown liquid. Then she sat back. "No thanks. I don't feel like contaminating my body with caffeine right now."  
  
"Well, you never mind... 'contaminating' yourself with the stuff HE feeds you." Susan pointed to 625, who was still asleep. "Who knows what he puts in those sandwiches he makes." Susan continued to hold out the mug of coffee. "If you trust your boyfriend, the least you can do is trust me and contaminate your body. Please?" Susan gave Kasey a teasing smile.  
  
"Hey! That teasing smile is copyright to moi!" Kasey exclaimed. She laughed. "Okay. I'll have some." She took the coffee from Susan and took a sip. Then flinched. "It's hot!"  
  
"Of course it is! What, did you expect it to have ice cubes floating around in it?" Susan asked with her paws on her hips.  
  
Kasey then proceeded to shake 625 into consciousness once more. When he woke up again, before he could say anything, Kasey grabbed another mug of coffee from Susan and offered it to 625. "Hola Figaro! Did you have a good siesta?"  
  
625 took the coffee without question, and when he sipped it he flinched like Kasey had. "It's hot!"  
  
Susan sighed. "Am I the only one that isn't totally clueless?"  
  
"Well maybe if you just drink it quickly." Kasey took a big gulp of her coffee, then she flinched worse than before and her eyes started to tear. "I shouldn't have done that..."  
  
625 laughed. "I could've told you that!"  
  
Kasey gave 625 a playful push. "Shame on you for laughing at your girlfriend!"  
  
"Okay, okay, okay. Enough goofing off, you two." Susan shook her head, but she couldn't help a little laughter herself. "Your time here is limited, remember? I really think you should go back to Gantu and apologize for whatever it is you did."  
  
"We didn't do anything!" Kasey held her paws up in the air while carefully balancing her coffee mug on her lap. "Except a little good-natured teasing."  
  
Susan didn't look surprised. "You know, even 'good-natured' teasing can go a little too far."  
  
"Well, we'll do it eventually. We have a whole week, right?" Kasey smiled. "For now, let's concentrate on breakfast. Do you have any pancake mix? Boysenberry syrup?"  
  
"Any butter?" 625 added.  
  
Susan groaned. "This is going to be harder than I thought. You guys, you can't just keep avoiding the subject. You need to talk to Gantu."  
  
"Aw, why do you always have to be a fun-sucker, Susan? Besides, I like pancakes!" Kasey nodded.  
  
Susan sighed. "Okay. If I make you a pancake, will you go and talk to Gantu?"  
  
Kasey considered this. "Maybe."  
  
"Maybe isn't good enough, Pancake Girl." Susan looked annoyed, but slightly amused as well.  
  
"Okay, so I will."  
  
"You promise?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Say it."  
  
Kasey sighed. "...I promise. But 625 has to go with me."  
  
"Why? Are you scared?" 625 teased.  
  
"No!" Kasey insisted. "It's just that you're homeless too, you know. It's only fair that we go together! Couples are supposed to be equal."  
  
"But I don't want to go! I have plans." 625 nodded.  
  
"Plans?" Kasey questioned with an upraised eyebrow. "Plans to what? Raid the kitchen then lay around eating all day?"  
  
"I see you understand."  
  
Kasey snorted. "That's not work! It's being lazy!"  
  
"Like you aren't!"  
  
"Hey, hey!" Susan did a "stop" gesture. "Please, don't do this now. You two have responsibilities to take care of. So take care of them!"  
  
Kasey folded her arms. "Okay, okay. We will after breakfast. You don't have to be so bossy about it!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's the only way to get through to a couple of pathetic creatures such as yourselves."  
  
625 snorted. "Yeah, like you aren't pathetic. Designed to attract the opposite gender? That's the only way YOU can get a boyfriend! THAT'S pathetic!"  
  
Susan looked agitated. Her right eye twitched. She stood up. "...I'll make the pancakes." Then she disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Sometime later, when everyone had had their breakfast, Susan held open the door for Kasey and 625. "Okay. Your stomachs are full. Now go talk to Gantu about getting your home back."  
  
625 held open the door. "Mine isn't. Do you have any---"  
  
"Out!" Susan demanded, and shut the door on the two experiments, then leaned against it. "Sheesh!"  
  
"Is she rude or what?" 625 shook his head. "So, what do you want to do?"  
  
"Duh! Talk to Gantu about letting us back." Kasey rolled her eyes.  
  
"You mean we were being serious?" 625 looked surprised.  
  
"Well, I was, at least," Kasey answered. "So let's go. You don't want to be thrown out in a week, do you? You don't want to be homeless, do ya? Now come on, let's go see if he will take us back." Then she started to walk off.  
  
"You say it like it's nothing. And let me tell you, I wouldn't mind doing nothing," 625 remarked, unaware for the moment that he had just made himself a victim.  
  
"Yeah, I know. If there was a class in nothing, you'd get an A in it," Kasey remarked. "Come on then, Mr. Nothing."  
  
625 looked like he was about ready to complain, but reluctantly followed his girlfriend in silence. The air was misty, but the morning shower had passed. When they had finally made it to Gantu's spaceship, 625 gave Kasey a little push towards the entrance. She looked back at him in annoyance, but she walked up to it anyway.  
  
"Hello?!" Kasey shouted through the closed entrance. "Are you there, Gantu?"  
  
"No, I'm right here," Kasey heard a booming voice from behind her, but before she could turn her head she felt herself being lifted up. Then the next thing she knew, she was face-to-face with Gantu. He had also picked 625 up off of the ground, who was in his left hand as Kasey was in his right.  
  
Kasey waved innocently. "Hi, Gantu."  
  
"Don't 'hi' me, you good-for-nothing ex-minion of mine. What are you doing near here? You don't live here anymore, so you're trespassing on my property." Gantu looked at them each angrily, his hands tightening around their bodies.  
  
Kasey coughed, struggling uncomfortably. "Could you loosen your grip? I can't breathe!"  
  
"Yeah. The girl has a nice point." 625 struggled uncomfortably as well. Then he stopped, flinching. "Ow. I think you just crushed a vital organ."  
  
Then, suddenly, Gantu dropped Kasey, then dropped 625 in order to examine his right hand. "Ouch! What did you do to me, female?!"  
  
Kasey examined her claws. "I knew my claws were like thorns, but who knew they could penetrate YOUR flesh, Gantu!"  
  
"Yeah, who knew?" 625 seemed to be laughing silently. That is, until Gantu gave him a threatening look, then he conveniently hid behind Kasey.  
  
"Now, let's get down to business." Kasey clicked her claws. "Not that you deserve us, but we're asking you to take us back. Answer me quickly, for we don't have all day."  
  
"Uh, actually, Sugar Dumplin', we do," 625 told Kasey, but she simply showed him her claws, then he went back to being completely hidden. Even though hiding behind his girlfriend to get away from her doesn't exactly sound smart.  
  
Gantu chuckled. "I knew you'd come back crawling. Well, who am I to turn you down when you obviously need me?"  
  
This annoyed Kasey. "What?! We don't need you, and we're certainly not coming back crawling! I wouldn't come back if you paid me!"  
  
"Uh... Kasey?" 625 looked cautiously at his girlfriend. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I am not living there again if he's going to be that inconsiderate! If anyone's going to do any crawling, it'll be HIM," Kasey decided. "Not us. We're not going to degrade ourselves."  
  
"But I LIKE degrading myself!" 625 insisted.  
  
"Fine. If you two still want to be on your own, go ahead. But you won't last a day without me." Gantu pressed Kasey's nose gently, but because of the size of his finger it didn't feel that gentle to her, and she toppled over, landing on 625.  
  
"We already did!" Kasey shouted after him as he stomped away. She folded her arms angrily. "Boy, some people are so insensitive to others." She shook her head, unaware that she was still sitting on 625.  
  
"Uh... could you maybe..." 625 said from underneath her, "get off of me?!"  
  
"Huh?" Kasey said cluelessly. Then she looked down. "Oh. Sorry." She got up and started to pace around with a thoughtful look on her face.  
  
625 watched her for a while, looking back and forth as she paced back and forth. Then, finally, he snapped and held his head. "Would you stop that?! You're making me dizzy!"  
  
"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what we're going to do." Kasey bit her claw, looking worried.  
  
"Well, it's your fault, you know! Gantu was GOING to ask us back, but you didn't want to degrade yourself! I blame you!" 625 pointed to Kasey, annoyed.  
  
Kasey didn't seem to care. "Whatever." She walked a little ways further, then stopped. She sighed, and her ears drooped sadly against her head. "It looks like we're going to have to continue being Susan's burden."  
  
625 scoffed, but didn't say anything.  
  
It was dark in the living room, the only light coming from the television screen. 625 and Kasey were, as usual, on the couch. There was food and drinks all over the coffee table in front of them, and there was also food all over the couch and wrappers and empty soda cans on the floor. Susan came into the room just then, and the scene in front of her more than a little annoyed her. She stared at them, mouth agape. "What are you guys doing?!"  
  
"Eating," 625 replied. "What does it look like?"  
  
"Well, you're certainly not keeping yourselves in shape, that's for sure." Susan snorted. "How can you guys live with yourselves?! Don't you feel so... dirty for being a couple of lazy slobs? I would!"  
  
Kasey shook her head. "No, no, no." She pointed to 625. "HE'S a lazy slob. I'm just lazy."  
  
Susan sighed, looking around the messy room. "Listen. Maybe you do this kind of stuff in Gantu's ship all of the time. But you can't do it here. If Nani catches you, you're going to be SO busted. I'LL be so busted!"  
  
"Well, we have to eat!" 625 exclaimed in annoyance. "What do you want us to do, starve ourselves?!"  
  
"Well, maybe you wouldn't be so..." Susan looked 625 over, "...plump."  
  
"Are you saying I'm fat?!"  
  
"Hoooold it!" Kasey waved her paws around frantically. Then she put them on her hips. "I won't have my best friend and my boyfriend arguing. Why don't you join us, Susie?" Kasey smiled sweetly.  
  
"Are you kidding?! I won't be a part of your..." Susan looked like she was searching for the right words to say, "bizarre... lazy... rituals! And don't call me Susie!" She stomped her foot in annoyance and started to walk away. But in the room walked...  
  
Nani. And she couldn't believe what she saw. "What... what is all this?! Is that EVERYTHING we bought at the grocery store last weekend?!"  
  
"No, some is from the weekend before that." Kasey nodded.  
  
"You weren't HERE the weekend before that!" Nani exclaimed.  
  
"My, picky, picky." 625 shook his head. "Why care about minor details?"  
  
"This is no minor detail!" Nani turned to Susan. "I don't know what to say, but... those two are eating us out of house and home!"  
  
"Or at least 625 is." Kasey pointed her thumb at 625, and he folded his arms at her in annoyance.  
  
"Not to mention what they did to the living room..." Nani looked around at the mess again, looking like she couldn't believe how messy the room had gotten in only a few minutes. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to ask them to leave."  
  
"Now? But you promised them a week!" Susan helplessly reminded Nani.  
  
"I am sorry, but I can't afford to have them live in this house another day. Literally! They're going to have to go," Nani said sincerely, looking like she really was sorry, but that there was nothing more she could do.  
  
"Well that bites," Susan remarked, but she looked to the floor and sighed. "However, I understand. You two... I'm sorry, but you have to go, and now."  
  
"Well, do we have time to pack?" Kasey looked skeptical, and she pouted slightly.  
  
"Of course. Go on." Nani waved them on.  
  
Kasey leapt down from the couch. Then she grabbed both of 625's paws and tried to pull him off. "Come on, 625! We have to pack!" She tried with all her strength to pull him off, but discovered that she couldn't. "Have you gained weight since an hour ago?!"  
  
"Well, by the way he eats, did you think he'd be a stringbean?!" Susan exclaimed.  
  
Kasey nodded. "Good point." She continued to tug on 625's paws. "Will you come on!"  
  
"But I don't want to!" 625 whined. "Can't you pack for me?"  
  
"It'll be quicker if you do your own packing. And I WON'T do it for you. So come on! Get up!" Kasey pulled a little more then gave up and started to walk away.  
  
"625, go help your girlfriend pack!" Susan demanded. "Or I'll drag you there because let me tell you, I'm a lot stronger, and ROUGHER than Kasey." Susan curled her right paw into a fist, as if she was about ready to give 625 a good punching.  
  
"Okay, okay." 625 got off of the couch, and blocked his face with his arms as he walked past Susan. "You don't have to threaten to punch my lights out!"  
  
"If you weren't my friend's love, I would've done just that a long time ago." Susan punched her left paw as she watched 625 leave the room.  
  
Moments later, the couple came back into the room with their packs. They were led outside, Susan watching pityingly as they left. As they walked away from the house, Kasey sighed. "You didn't have to make such a mess of the place. And you didn't have to raid their whole kitchen! That's why we were kicked out." She scowled. "Again."  
  
"You are just as responsible as I am! And I didn't have to come along! It was YOU who Gantu originally kicked out!" 625 shot back.  
  
"You're right! You didn't have to! And if you didn't, then I wouldn't have been thrown out again!" Kasey started to quickly walk away angrily. Then when she saw that she wasn't being followed, she turned back and went over to 625. "Sorry. We shouldn't be worrying about whose fault it is. We're in this together."  
  
"I'm glad you've finally come to your senses." 625 smiled proudly. "After all, you couldn't live without me. I'm the whole world to you."  
  
Kasey looked like she was about to snap at 625 for that, but instead she simply rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic, "Right." She headed off, and this time 625 followed behind.  
  
As they continued to walk, Kasey spotted a small secluded cabin. Curiously, she started to walk towards it. "Maybe someone here can help us."  
  
"Are you sure we should just go up to a stranger's house?" 625 looked cautious.  
  
Kasey frowned. "Well, you have a point. But what else are we going to do? Besides, it's a cabin, not a house."  
  
"Oh, well, excuse me! A cabin."  
  
Kasey made her way up to the cabin's door, and carefully held out her paw, about to knock. Then she stopped. "What if, when I knock on the door, somebody opens the door and grabs us then gags and bounds us, leaving us to rot until someone---"  
  
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" 625 stepped forward and swung open the door. "There!"  
  
"625! You're not supposed to just barge in!" Kasey pointed out.  
  
"So? There's no one in there, anyway." 625 was looking into the darkness of the cabin. "Empty!"  
  
"You sure?" Kasey walked around and in front of 625, looking into the cabin. Then, despite the fact that she didn't remember telling herself to do so, she walked further into the cabin.  
  
625 stood in the doorway, watching until Kasey's walking form disappeared into the darkness, becoming a part of it. He stood there a little while longer, not really willing to follow after his girlfriend. Trying to stall, he called after her. "Kasey?... Kuh-Kasey? What are you doing?! You get back... right now! ...Please, don't make me follow after you. Kuh...Kasey? Are you all right?" He stepped a little further, looking worried and frightened. He did NOT want to do this. He continued watching the blackness for a little while longer, hoping more than anything that she would reappear any minute now. But when she didn't, he knew what he had to do, as much as he didn't want to. He walked farther into the cabin, then heard a sound that would send chills up anyone's spine:  
  
The door slamming shut and locking behind him.

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THE END  
  
To be continued  
--------------------

  
Remember, if you're going to review, be reasonable.


	13. Even More Surprises

What can I say, the thirteenth chapter. Read and be nice.

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Chap. 13: Even More Surprises

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Kasey stopped in the middle of the cabin when she heard a slam. Her pulse began to race... what just happened? And what was she doing?! She was in the middle of a cabin covered in darkness, where there could be anyone hiding in the darkness, just waiting to pounce on her...  
  
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She screamed, terrified out of her wits---this was a mistake, a terrible mistake! "No! Please! You don't want to kill me and throw my body in the ocean for sharks to eat! I'm too young to be dead!"  
  
"Hey, hey, cool it, Jellybean! It's only me!" Kasey turned around to face 625. She gave a relieved sigh.  
  
"Don't you ever... EVER do that again!" Kasey warned. Then looked confused. "Jellybean?"  
  
"Well, I've always thought you looked like some kinda' purple jelly bean."  
  
"That's stupid."  
  
"Oh yeah?" 625 snorted. "'Help me, save me, I'm gonna' die and be thrown to the sharks! Oh, no... NOO!! AHHHHH!!!" He laughed, obviously mocking Kasey. "THAT's stupid."  
  
Kasey grumbled, but didn't say anything. They walked along in the darkness silently for a while, until 625 started up again.  
  
At first, he only hummed innocently. Kasey looked annoyed, but still didn't say anything. Then he smirked. "Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum... SHARK!! Run for your life!" He taunted Kasey with his eyes, although they couldn't be seen in the dark.  
  
Kasey turned around, and looked straight at 625. "625... you're an idiot." Then she continued to walk forward.  
  
"Ooohh... watch me tremble."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Ooo, cranky today, aren't we?"  
  
Kasey continued to walk in silence, until she bumped into something. "Ow."  
  
"'Ow'!" 625 mocked. "Don't you watch where you're going, Dollcakes?"  
  
"I told you to shut up. And don't call me Dollcakes!"  
  
"Would you rather I call you a Ragamuffin?"  
  
"Don't you ever stop? I didn't start dating you to be ridiculed!"  
  
"The ridiculing is a bonus, Babyface."  
  
"And don't call me Babyface!"  
  
"Ahem?" Kasey and 625 stopped short, 625 bumping into Kasey, when they heard another voice join theirs. A male voice.  
  
625 looked around cautiously. "Did you just do some weird imitation?"  
  
Kasey looked back at him, irritated. "Why would I want to do that for?!"  
  
"I don't know what your personal hobbies are..."  
  
"Will you be quiet!" Kasey exclaimed. "Do I have to remind you that someone is here with us?!"  
  
"That's a'right. Continue on with your hatred, if you have to." said the other person in the room. Kasey tried making him out in the darkness by squinting her eyes.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked. "And what do you want with us?"  
  
"Relax. I'm not going to harm you. But I think we could communicate better if I turn a light on." A light flicked on, revealing everything in the room. They were standing in front of a desk that had a computer with many controls on it, and there were three sets of folders by the computer's side. Sitting at the desk was a skinny, dark-skinned man. He had shaggy black hair and brown eyes, and was dressed in very important-looking clothes. "Ah, so your Jade's experiments, hm?"  
  
"Well, I am." Kasey pointed a thumb at 625. "He's the six-hundred and twenty-fifth creation of Jumba Jookiba."  
  
"Ah, yes. I've heard of them from my cousin, Cobra Bubbles. My names Raleigh, by the way. I'm sorry if I frightened you," the guy explained.  
  
"Me? Frightened? No way," Kasey said calmly. 625 gave her a push, and she playfully hit him on the head in return. "But why are we here, anyway?"  
  
"And who slammed the door?" 625 looked back at the door, still looking shook up.  
  
"I shut it with the computer. Watch this." Raleigh pushed a button on the computer, and the door opened back up, which made both of the experiments jump. Then he pressed the button once more and it closed again. "Now. To get down to business. I was Jade's assistant on Earth before she passed away. I'm the one that gave her information about Earth. We communicated through our computers, most of the time."  
  
Kasey snapped her fingers. "So THAT's how she knew so much about Earth!"  
  
Raleigh chuckled. "Well, how do you think she knew? Telepathy?" He then picked up the folders near the computer. "When I stopped receiving messages from Jade, I knew something was wrong. I used my tracker to track down her ship. Jade was no where to be found, but by the horrible crash, I pieced together what had happened. I also found these folders in her ship. They contain information about her experiments. I had a feeling her experiments survived, and I've been tracking you down for a while now. But look;you're the one that found me! Convenient, don't you think?"  
  
Kasey nodded. "Yes." She looked curiously at the folders. "May I see them?"  
  
"Sure. You're her experiment." Raleigh handed Kasey the folders. "But where are Jade's other experiments?"  
  
"Well, Susan lives with Lilo and Stitch. And me... I live with Gantu and 625. Or... at least I did," Kasey explained.  
  
"And what about her third experiment?"  
  
"Third experiment?"  
  
"Yes. Don't you know? There's three folders there."  
  
In utter perplexion, Kasey looked through the folders until she came to the last one. As she opened it up, she read at the top of the paper, "Third experiment: Experiment NIC. Special ability: Imagination Reader." But Kasey could not read the rest, as the writing was too complicated;it looked like a bunch of scientific figures. Probably the readings of Experiment NIC's DNA, Kasey figured. But she kept staring at it, even though she couldn't understand most of it. "Wow... Jade was going to make another experiment. I expected it, but I didn't know it was this near completion."  
  
"So, she didn't even finish Experiment NIC, eh? Shame. If she had lived about a month more, she would've finished Experiment NIC. But she didn't even give the experiment a name yet. Where it says 'Call name:', there's a blank." Raleigh explained.  
  
"Ohh... so for our scientific names, she classified us with letters?"  
  
Raleigh nodded. "Your call name is Kasey, and your scientific name is Experiment KC. Makes a heck of a difference, huh?" Raleigh chuckled. "Susan is Experiment SUE. Kinda' corny, if you ask me, but Jade liked to be unusual."  
  
"I get it. So she added on and/or improved our scientific names for our call names," Kasey said, finally understanding. "So, why're we here for?"  
  
"I thought you'd might like to know these things. And I wanted to know for sure if you experiments survived. You can keep the folders. And you can leave now, if you want." Raleigh nodded to the door. "Don't worry;I don't plan on scaring you again." He smiled.  
  
So, Kasey and 625 made their way to the door and went back outside. Kasey continued to look at the folder of Experiment NIC as they walked. "It's so sad. If only Jade had lived a little longer... but now, this experiment will probably be nothing more than scientific words and figures on a piece of paper." She shook her head.  
  
"Well, if that's all it is, why do you look like you're going to give an eulogy?" 625 asked. Then he looked wary. "You're not, are you?"  
  
"No." Kasey sighed. "I just wish that this experiment could've been made. It would be neat if there was another one of Jade's experiments here on Earth. It's the way she would've wanted it."  
  
625 feigned crying. "Oooh... that's so beautiful!"  
  
Kasey playfully punched him. "Stop it, okay?"  
  
"Sor-ry, but this whole Experiment NIC thing has seemed to clog your memory or somethin'. Have you forgotten the real reason we're out here in the first place? Hello?! We don't have a place to live, remember?!" 625 exclaimed, desperately throwing his arms up in the air.  
  
Kasey groaned. "Did you HAVE to go and remind me?" She shook her head. "How did we ever get ourselves into this mess...?"  
  
"Well, if I remember correctly, YOU made Gantu mad."  
  
"Me?! I---" Then Kasey stopped, mid-sentence. "Oh, let's not start this again. Let's just try to fix our problem. ...Why me...?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Punkin', whinin' never fixed anything." 625 put an arm around Kasey's shoulder.  
  
Kasey glared at him. "Neither does sweet-talkin'."  
  
625 folded his arms. "So what do you propose we do now, Ms. Perfect?"  
  
Kasey looked annoyed. "What's that supposed to mean?!"  
  
"Come on now, you can't keep avoiding it forever," 625 said with his paws on his hips. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Kasey heaved a sigh. "I wish I knew..."  
  
Susan sat on a park swing, unenthusiastically pushing herself back and forth with her right foot. She sighed, looking sullen. "Stitch likes Angel more than me. Kasey has no home. I'm sure Jade didn't picture it all like this. Why did she have to leave us? What would she say if she were here? Things couldn't get much worse." After she had said this, stomps on the ground that felt like an earthquake made her fall face first onto the ground. She spit out dirt and held her head up with her fist. "Apparently, I was wrong."  
  
She got up, brushing dirt off of her fur, then watched as Gantu started walking up the path. "I might've known." She looked suspicious. "I wonder what he's up to...?" She ran up to the path in front of Gantu. "Hey, Fish Boy---what ya goin' to do?"  
  
Instantly, Susan's charms began to work their effects on Gantu again. "Why, I was just heading to your place, sweetie pie."  
  
Susan looked deeply embarrassed, mumbling quietly under her breath about how the only guys she managed to attract were fish. She shook her head, not trying with very much effort to hide her disgusted expression. She sighed. "And why were you going over there for? I'm not going to go on a date with you."  
  
Gantu sighed. "I'm going over there to ask the two abominations back." He looked slightly embarrassed in front of Susan. "Not that I really need them or anything---Dr. Hamsterviel ordered it."  
  
Susan didn't look as if she bought that. "Sure..." She shifted her weight. "Well, you'll be wasting your time if you go over there. Nani kicked them out. Apparently, they've been getting a lot of that lately." Susan glared at Gantu. "I don't know where they are, though. Good luck."  
  
Gantu groaned at this misfortune, and stomped off, resulting in Susan falling on her bottom. She grumbled. "I am losing my patience..."  
  
"I'm hungry..."  
  
Kasey frowned. "You've been saying that more times than I can count in the last half hour, 625."  
  
"Yeah, well, you've been looking through that folder more times than I can count. What's so interesting about it, anyway?" 625 looked over Kasey's shoulder at the folder she kept thumbing through.  
  
Kasey quickly shut the folder. "Nevermind."  
  
They were walking closer to the park, where Gantu had been only seconds ago. As they passed through the park, they met up with Susan, who was just walking around.  
  
"Susan!" Kasey exclaimed. "Hey, what're you doing here?"  
  
"Just having a leisurely stroll," Susan replied. "Oh, and you'll never believe the news I have!"  
  
Kasey grinned. "I bet my news is more amazing than yours!"  
  
"No way, girl! You'll die when you hear my news!"  
  
625 rolled his eyes. "Will you just get on with it!? I already know her news," 625 poked Kasey, "so tell us yours, Fantasia!"  
  
Susan raised a brow, but shook it off and got on with it. "Eh, erm, anyway, Gantu came by here about a couple of minutes ago, and you'll never believe it! He's searching for you two! He wants to ask you back!"  
  
"No way! Really? He sincerely, honestly wants us back? He really does need us? Well, that takes care of that, I guess. But wait until I tell you..." Kasey looked around as if she was about to discuss a crime in the making, "Jade made another experiment! Well, she was going to. You see, she had an assistant on Earth named Raleigh. And he found our experiment folders, but he also found a third one. See?" Kasey handed Susan Experiment NIC's folder.  
  
Susan looked through the folder like Kasey had, and looked just as amazed. "Wow... so, there WAS going to be another one, but I didn't know it was almost done!" Then Susan smirked, looking thoughtful. "Hey--- mind if I take this home?"  
  
Kasey sighed. "Go ahead. There's nothing more I can do with it."  
  
"Are you sure? You seemed to do plenty with it earlier. You looked at it, you looked at it upside down, you looked at it sideways... I think you even made it float WHILE looking at it once," 625 pointed out.  
  
Kasey stared at 625. "How much free time do you have anyway, 625?"  
  
"Well, you didn't have anything better to do than stare at what's in that folder, even though you can't understand 99.9% of it!"  
  
"Okay, okay... whatever," Kasey excused the argument calmly. "Well, I guess we'd better go now... nice chatting with ya, Susan!"  
  
Susan nodded and waved as the couple walked away into the distance.  
  
Gantu walked back to his ship, grumbling. He had failed in his search of Kasey and 625, and wasn't in a particularly good mood. Well, he never really was, was he? But as he walked into the ship, he found something he never expected.  
  
There were 625 and Kasey, both leaning against the wall. "Hi, Gantu," they said in unison.  
  
Gantu stared at them. "What---how---when---what're the both of you doing back here?!"  
  
625 looked at Gantu in a phony sympathetic way. "Susan told us how much you needed us, Gantu. And now we've come back to take care of you." 625 held Kasey close, and she began to laugh. "And if you're a good little tadpole, we won't put you in a home."  
  
Kasey burst out laughing, leaning against 625 to prevent falling against the floor. Gantu didn't look quite pleased with their behavior... although in a way, he seemed relieved. "All right, all right, you can stay here. But I expect a little more respect from you two!"  
  
"Aw, Gantu, we always respect you. It's just that we don't think you can handle it." Kasey nodded.  
  
Gantu growled, staring angrily at them, but he left the room without another word.  
  
"Ahhhh!"  
  
"Wuh?" Kasey woke with a start. Did Gantu just scream? Well, there was one way to find out. She got up from her "bed" on the floor of the storage room and went out into the hall, only to bump into 625 who was on his way out, too.  
  
625 rubbed his forehead, where their heads had hit. "Ow! Hey, watch where you're goin'!"  
  
"Well, sorry!" Kasey looked 625 over. "Why are you covered in breadcrumbs?"  
  
625 brushed crumbs from his fur. "I had a midnight snack. Why, is that suddenly a federal crime, Officer Know-Nothing?"  
  
Kasey sighed, ignoring 625's clever response, which made him scowl. "You heard Gantu scream, too? I wonder what happened?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe he looked at himself in the mirror." 625 chuckled. "Besides, Gantu doesn't scream. He bellows."  
  
Kasey nodded, then felt the floor shake. "Oh, I think we're about to find out." Gantu headed their way, with something grasped firmly in his hand. He went past them, knocking 625 down. Kasey went after Gantu, and after a moment, 625 got up and followed, too.  
  
"Hey Gantu? What happened? We heard you scream!" Kasey exclaimed, watching Gantu get a teleporter ready.  
  
"I didn't scream!" Gantu exclaimed in annoyance.  
  
"That's right! You bellowed!" 625 pointed out.  
  
Gantu glared at 625, then looked back to Kasey. "If you must know, an experiment woke me up, and I'm going to send it to Dr. Hamsterviel before something goes wrong."  
  
"Something ALWAYS goes wrong," 625 told Gantu.  
  
"Well, it won't this time! For your information, I---"  
  
"Wait a sec!" Kasey went over to the container computer. "If an experiment is activated, isn't this thingy supposed to say so? You said it woke you up, so I assume it's been activated."  
  
"Strike one!" 625 slapped his left paw, and Gantu glowered at him.  
  
"So, may I see the experiment?" Kasey asked. "Please? If you don't let me see it, I'll bug you about it until you do. And you know perfectly well that I am more than capable of that." Kasey smiled innocently.  
  
"Strike two!" 625 slapped his right paw.  
  
Gantu groaned. "Oh, all right! But only for a minute. Dr. Hamsterviel doesn't like it when I delay giving him experiments."  
  
"But he's probably used to it by now anyway," 625 commented.  
  
Gantu sent another Look in 625's direction, then held out something in his right hand in front of Kasey, then opened it. And what they saw was a light pink, yellow-spotted furball. It opened itself up out of the furball, shaking it's head, then it sneezed, and looked straight at Kasey. Its whole body was the light pink color, and its face was the only part of itself that wasn't covered in the yellow spots. Its ears stuck straight up, making it look somewhat like a baby wolf. Its fur was very shaggy, and its claws in sequence were light pink, yellow, light pink, yellow... oh, and its eyes were brown. Like Susan and Kasey's.  
  
It flicked its long, wolflike tail out from behind itself and twitched its little black nose, which looked completely out of place with all the pink and yellow. Then it quickly jumped out of Gantu's hand and ran out of the room.  
  
"Strike three!" 625 slapped his paws together. Delightfully, he pointed a thumb in another direction. "You're out!"  
  
"Shut up!" Gantu shouted at 625. He looked to Kasey. "This is your fault, female! If you hadn't---"  
  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute." Kasey held her paw out in a stop gesture. "Why do you always call me 'female'? Because I'm a girl, does that make me inferior to all of the other experiments? You complain about us not respecting you... well, I think I should be respected once in awhile, too!"  
  
625 nudged Kasey. "Hey, what about me?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kasey waved 625 away. He frowned.  
  
"Hey, I---" Gantu began, then grumbled, "oh, I have no time for this! I have to catch that experiment!" He ran in the direction that the experiment had gone in.  
  
That's when the phone rang. 625 went for it, but Kasey pushed him out of the way and grabbed the phone. She put it to her ear. "Hello? Oh, hi, Susan!"  
  
625 sighed. "Here we go..."  
  
"What? You what? He what? He did? Wow... it what?! ...Escaped? ...Oh, my... Susan, it's here! Listen, I'll call you back, okay? Yeah, goodbye!" She hung up the phone, then turned to 625, looking dumbfounded.  
  
"What? What is it?" 625 asked curiously.  
  
"625, it's... it's amazing. You'll never believe it..." Kasey looked to 625 and smiled, about to tell 625 her news...

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THE END  
  
To be continued

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	14. Meet Nicole

Chapter fourteen. This is it for now, but I'll try and post more later.

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Chap. 14: Meet Nicole  
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Smiling, Kasey put her paws together and bounced up and down. "You'll never BELIEVE who that experiment is."  
  
"Well, will you stop jumping up and down like a dang super ball and tell me?!" 625 exclaimed.  
  
"It'sExperimentNIC!" Kasey said quickly.  
  
"What?! Speak English!"  
  
"Experiment NIC!" Kasey said more slowly, though just as excitedly. "You know, Jade's third experiment."  
  
625 looked confused. "But I thought she died before it could be made?"  
  
"She did, but all of the information needed to make Experiment NIC was right there in that folder! That's why Susan wanted to take it home! She gave the folder to Jumba and he... made Experiment NIC! Well, actually, he just gave her life since technically Jade is the one that put everything together in the folder and---"  
  
"All right, all right! I get the picture!" 625 grabbed Kasey's arm and sighed. "We'd better go after Gantu before---"  
  
"Right!" Kasey nodded, not letting 625 finish. She ran off to go find Gantu and Experiment NIC. 625 stayed right where he was, not really caring if Kasey came back with Experiment NIC or not. Finally, Kasey did come back carrying the experiment with Gantu following closely behind.  
  
"Give me that experiment! We're supposed to be on the same side!" Gantu complained.  
  
"I'm on nobody's side!" Kasey insisted. "And this isn't one of the experiments you're looking for. This is one of Jade's experiments."  
  
Gantu looked perplexed. "I thought she only had two experiments?"  
  
"No. Three." Kasey sighed. "It's a long story."  
  
Gantu sighed. "Fine. Your creator made useless creations. Dr. Hamsterviel won't want one of you." He put his arms behind his head and stretched. "What does that thing do, anyway? Make paper snowflakes?"  
  
Kasey shook her head. "In the folder, it called Experiment NIC an 'Imagination Reader'. So I suppose that means she reads imaginations. But anyway, I think we should give her a name now. Jade would've as soon as she opened her eyes. What do you think? It should be a name that goes with the letters NIC."  
  
"How about Nickle?" 625 suggested.  
  
"Close, but no."  
  
"How about," Gantu smiled and flexed his muscles, "Gantu?"  
  
"Dream on, Squid Brain!" Kasey exclaimed. "No, no... it has to be something..." She snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Nicole! We'll name her Nicole."  
  
625 looked the wolflike experiment over. "I don't know. She doesn't look much like a Nicole."  
  
"Well, who asked you! You don't even HAVE a name." Kasey poked 625's nose with a claw.  
  
"Yeah!" Gantu nodded. "What she said."  
  
"Hey!" Kasey stared at Gantu. "I don't recall asking your opinion, either!"  
  
"Yeah, Gantu! Stop bothering her! She's going to..." 625 leaned over to Kasey. "Help me out here, what exactly are you going to do?"  
  
Kasey held up Nicole. "I don't know... I guess we've got to find Nicole here a home."  
  
"She's not staying here!" Gantu exclaimed. "I don't need another unnecessary experiment laying around!"  
  
"Don't worry. I plan to find her a good home." Kasey smiled.  
  
"How? You couldn't even find us a home!" 625 reminded Kasey.  
  
"Well, this time will be different," Kasey insisted. After she had said this, Nicole started squirming around in Kasey's arms. Finally, she jumped out of her grasp and ran to the ship's exit, which for some reason happened to be open.  
  
625 nodded. "You're right. It's different. It didn't happen this way last time."  
  
Kasey sighed. "Come on. Let's go after her."  
  
"Why do I have to? I have a date," 625 excused.  
  
Kasey looked at 625 suspiciously. "With who?"  
  
625 backed away. "With sleep! I'm tired!"  
  
"Come on, 625. Please?" Kasey pouted and looked at 625 sadly.  
  
625 shook his head. "Nuh-uh. No way! That sympathy stuff isn't going to work on me!"  
  
"Aw, but I love you!" Kasey gave him a quick kiss and smiled. "Please? For me?"  
  
625 sighed. "Fine. If it will get you off my case!"  
  
"Great. Come on, let's go find Nicole before she tries to cross the ocean!" Kasey ran out of the ship and 625 hesitantly followed.  
  
Nicole sniffed around in the grass, then poked her nose up and sneezed when it got covered in dirt. When she heard footsteps start to come her way, she started to quickly run away, but she tripped and fell. She hid her face with her paws, hoping whoever it was, they wouldn't find her.  
  
"Nicole!" came Kasey's voice, "Nicole, I know you're here. Come out. We're not going to hurt you."  
  
Nicole poked her head slightly up, then back down when she saw Kasey. Kasey ran over in that direction, then tripped.  
  
"Ow. I think I've found her." And she did. Nicole was what she had tripped over, and she smiled mischievously and wagged her tail. Kasey grinned. "Hey, you've got my smile!"  
  
Nicole squealed and pounced upon Kasey. Kasey put her down and got up.  
  
"Hey! You think this is all just a big game, don't you?" Kasey asked. Then she looked around. "Hey... whatever happened to 625?"  
  
Nicole sniffed around, and disappeared momentarily. Then Kasey heard a howl, and seconds later 625 walked into view with Nicole nipping at his feet.  
  
Kasey folded her arms. "Where have you been?! One minute, you were behind me, the next, you're gone!"  
  
"I was going back to get something to eat!" 625 explained.  
  
"Yeah? Well, you don't have any proof!"  
  
625 pointed to Nicole. "SHE ate it! Both her and you owe me a sandwich."  
  
"Why me?" Kasey asked. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
"You're the one that made me follow," 625 pointed out.  
  
Kasey sighed. "Okay, you made a point. I'll pay you back later. For now, you'll have to settle for an IOU."  
  
625 scowled, and Nicole continued to nip at his feet. He tried to get away from her, but she was too quick for him. He then tried to kick her away, but she kept snapping at his feet. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Make her stop! Make her stop!"  
  
Kasey reached forward and grabbed Nicole away from 625. But she squirmed around, and it was hard for Kasey to keep hold of her. She broke free again and once more headed for 625. He screamed and ran around a tree with Nicole chasing after him.  
  
Kasey started laughing. "You two... look SO funny!"  
  
"I am NOT TRYING to be funny! Make her stop! Please!" 625 pleaded.  
  
Kasey smiled. "Aw. 625, you're so cute when you beg."  
  
"Nevermind that! Just help me!"  
  
Kasey put her paw to her chin, looking thoughtful. Then she went over to the tree, and the next time Nicole went by, Kasey grabbed her by the tail. "That was a snap!"  
  
"Maybe not." 625 stopped running, but watched Nicole with caution. "It doesn't seem like she ever runs out of energy! What're we going to DO with her? We obviously can't keep her."  
  
"No. We can't. You're right about that." She nodded, watching Nicole closely, who wagged her tail happily. "Oh, now I know how that Lilo girl feels when she has to find the 'one true place' for an experiment. Unfortunately, that's not something I'm good at."  
  
"Well, I hope you figure it out soon, because I don't like the way she's looking at me." 625 backed up against the tree, and Nicole started walking towards him, smirking.  
  
Kasey stared at Nicole, looking curious. "Uh... 625... her eyes are glowing."  
  
625 looked into Nicole's eyes, noticing that they were glowing blue instead of brown like they usually were. But when 625 stared deeply into her eyes, his started to glow blue, too!  
  
Kasey looked a little uneasy. "H-hey... what's happening?"  
  
Then, suddenly, the blue light started to cover everything, until nothing but blue could be seen. It got so bright that Kasey had to shield her eyes. When she finally opened them again, the blue was gone. Everything looked to be back to normal, in fact... or at least it seemed that way. But then Kasey noticed something different. Nicole was gone, and 625 lay collapsed at her feet!  
  
"Oh my..." Kasey ran over to him and sat down beside him, then lifted up his body a little and shook it. "625! 625! Are you all right? Speak to me!"  
  
625 moaned, and blinked open his eyes. "What happened? My head hurts!"  
  
Kasey let go of 625 and stood up. "Nicole did something weird just now. I think she was using her special power. She's an 'Imagination Reader'. I suppose that means she just read your imagination. But the question is, what did she do afterwards? There has to be more to it than that."  
  
625 propped himself up against the tree. "I don't know. And I don't care."  
  
"Well, I do. What if someone noticed what happened? All of that blue light was kinda' suspicious," Kasey pointed out. "I suppose the first thing we should do is find Nicole. Again."  
  
625 folded his arms. "I don't want to."  
  
Kasey raised her eyebrows. "Well, excuse me, what do you want to do?"  
  
"I want you to leave me alone!"  
  
Kasey blinked. "What's the matter with you? It's like someone sucked away your... imagin-ation..." Kasey's eyes got big as she figured it out. "That must be what happened! Nicole sucked out your imagination, and... what'd she do with it?"  
  
625 shrugged. Kasey sighed.  
  
"Okay... this is going to be harder than I thought. All right then, stay here. I'll go find Nicole." Kasey walked away while 625 slept underneath the leafy tree. Kasey looked all over the place for Nicole, but couldn't find head nor tail of her anywhere. "Nicole? Nicole?! Please come out! Don't hide from me AGAIN!" Kasey then heard a howl, and knew automatically it was Nicole. "Nicole? You come out here!"  
  
Nicole shyly poked her head out of a bush, then came out with her tail between her legs. She yipped as if to say, "I'm sorry."  
  
Kasey smiled. "I'll forgive you if you give 625's imagination back. I know you have it."  
  
Nicole yipped shamefully, looking up at Kasey with sad eyes. Then she went off in the direction Kasey had came in, and Kasey chased after her. They made it back to the tree where 625 was, and Nicole went up to him. She hit him with her paw and his eyes flew open, then were locked with hers like before. Again, they glowed blue. When they stopped, though, something else began to happen. Both 625 and Nicole's forms began to get fuzzy, as if they were going to fade out! Desperately, Kasey went over to 625 and grabbed him... at the exact moment that they DID fade out!  
  
"Hey, Kasey! Hey, hey, hey! Wake up! Hellooo?!" Kasey opened her eyes, and saw 625 sitting beside her. And he was eating a hotdog. Kasey sat up. "Where are we?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, but it really does seem familiar! And there's plenty to eat here!" 625 pointed with the hotdog to everything around them.  
  
Kasey blinked. He was right! The ground looked like it was made out of bread, and there were giant bottles of ketchup and mustard scattered around like trees. And there was food all over the ground, especially sandwiches. Kasey blinked again. "Wait a second... I think I know why this place seems so familiar to you! And why I'm lying on a giant slice of bread." Kasey shifted uncomfortably, then continued. "This is your imagination! At first, Nicole only took it. Then when she gave it back, she must've accidentally sent us there! We're in your imagination, 625!"  
  
"That's what I thought. Wanna' sandwich?" 625 picked up a sandwich from the ground and offered it to Kasey.  
  
Kasey stood up. "No thanks. I'm not very hungry." She sighed. "It looks like we're AGAIN going to have to find Nicole. I know she's here, too. And she's the only one who can put your imagination back in your head where it belongs." Kasey poked 625's head, as if that would help prove her point.  
  
"But I have my imagination back!" 625 insisted. "We're both in it right now."  
  
"Yeah. Literally," Kasey countered. "We're not supposed to be in it LITERALLY. Heck, I'm not supposed to be in it at all! This is your imagination, we don't share it. But we're stuck in it. That's why we have to find Nicole, so we can get back home, with your imagination in your mind and ONLY in your mind!"  
  
"Aw, do we have to? I could get used to living here." 625 took a bite of his hotdog contentedly.  
  
Kasey rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know you could." She sighed. "So, where do you think Nicole could be?"  
  
"I don't know," 625 replied unenthusiastically. "Why're you asking me for?"  
  
"Well, for the umpteenth time, it's YOUR imagination," Kasey reminded 625. "I thought you'd maybe have SOME idea where she could be."  
  
"Well, good luck." 625 laid back and continued to eat his hotdog.  
  
Kasey put her paws on her hips and stared at him. "As I said, it's your imagination. I need you along to show me around. You should know something about this place, since, you know, it's from your mind and all."  
  
"Can't you wait a little while? I'm comfortable where I am, thank you very much."  
  
"You can bring the hotdog with you. Now come on. You don't want your precious girlfriend to get lost, do you?" Kasey pouted, looking at 625 sadly.  
  
625 turned away. "Oh, come on! That's not fair! Why do you always pull guilt trips on people when you want to get what you want?"  
  
Kasey smiled. "Because it works."  
  
"All right already. Fine. I'll go with you." 625 slowly got up and went over to Kasey.  
  
Kasey nodded. "That's more like it. Now let's get going before something else happens!" Kasey started off somewhere, and since 625 had no choice, he followed her.  
  
As they walked along, everything around them began to get darker. Both of them started to look nervous.  
  
"Um... 625, what's happening? Why is everything suddenly starting to get all dark and nightmarish?" Kasey asked.  
  
625 looked thoughtful. "I... uh, oh yeah. There's this nightmare I always have..."  
  
Kasey looked worried. "Nightmare? What kind of nightmare? What happens in it?"  
  
625 shrugged. "I don't remember. I always forget about it when I wake up."  
  
Kasey groaned. "As if THAT helps... don't you remember anything about it? At all?"  
  
625 shrugged again. "Not really."  
  
"Well, do you remember if it was an especially bad dream?"  
  
625 nodded. "Yeah. It was the worst one I had..."  
  
Kasey swallowed. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Whatever happens here, will really happen to us. Nicole made your imagination like a real place. Meaning whatever we do here, whatever happens... happens as if it were real. Meaning your nightmare will really happen to us if we don't do something!" Now Kasey looked really worried.  
  
625 held his head. "Oh, that can't be good..."  
  
"No! It's not! I just wish I knew where Nicole was so we could get the heck outta' here!" Kasey sighed, then stopped and looked around as things got even darker. 625 stopped as well and they both looked cautiously around at the pitch black darkness now covering the land. Then they started to hear footsteps. Then they saw shining red eyes in the distance, coming closer. "And that, THAT DEFINITELY can't be good..." As whatever-it-was got closer, the two experiments screamed and desperately clinged their arms around each other.

------------------------  
  
THE END  
  
To be continued  
--------------------------

  
Review nicely. I'll put up chapter fifteen soon (whenever I manage to get around to it, that is). I know it was short, but the next one is longer, and a bit better. (I hope)


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